Nuveen Churchill Direct Lending (NYSE:NCDL) Announces Earnings Results, Beats Expectations By $0.02 EPS

Nuveen Churchill Direct Lending (NYSE:NCDL) released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday. The company reported $0.41 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.39 by $0.02, Zacks reports. Nuveen Churchill Direct Lending had a return on equity of 9.53% and a net margin of 24.44%.The firm had revenue of $11.14 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $46.72 million.

Here are the key takeaways from Nuveen Churchill Direct Lending’s conference call:

• Net investment income of $0.41 per share covered the $0.36 base dividend, and the board declared a third-quarter distribution of $0.38 per share, including a $0.02 supplemental payment.
• NAV declined 1.8% to $17.19 per share, driven by realized and unrealized losses tied primarily to amendments involving two underperforming investments. Four additional companies were placed on non-accrual, bringing non-accruals to 2.7% of investments at cost and 1.5% at fair value.
• NCDL’s gross originations fell sharply to $12.1 million from $82.9 million in the prior quarter as management managed leverage and private-equity deal activity slowed, although executives said transaction activity improved in June and July.
• NCDL launched a joint venture with an institutional investor, initially contributing a $150 million portfolio and targeting approximately $300 million of assets within 12 months. Management expects the vehicle’s leverage and senior-loan strategy to generate accretive returns and expand deployment capacity.
• The portfolio remained highly diversified across 244 companies, with 89.6% allocated to first-lien loans and only 2.4% exposure to software, while leverage was 1.29x gross and interest coverage was 2.5x.

Nuveen Churchill Direct Lending Trading Up 2.6%

Nuveen Churchill Direct Lending stock traded up $0.33 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $12.86. 187,958 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 193,508. Nuveen Churchill Direct Lending has a 1-year low of $11.97 and a 1-year high of $16.37. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $12.60 and a two-hundred day moving average of $13.18. The stock has a market cap of $635.16 million, a P/E ratio of 13.54 and a beta of 0.51.

Nuveen Churchill Direct Lending Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, October 27th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, September 30th will be given a dividend of $0.36 per share. This represents a $1.44 annualized dividend and a yield of 11.2%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, September 30th. Nuveen Churchill Direct Lending’s dividend payout ratio is presently 120.00%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CAO Marissa Hassen purchased 3,782 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 12th. The shares were bought at an average price of $13.21 per share, with a total value of $49,960.22. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer directly owned 9,780 shares in the company, valued at $129,193.80. This trade represents a 63.05% increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, VP John Mccally bought 7,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, May 15th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $13.27 per share, with a total value of $99,525.00. Following the transaction, the vice president owned 15,245 shares in the company, valued at approximately $202,301.15. The trade was a 96.84% increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase is available in the SEC filing. Insiders purchased 16,282 shares of company stock valued at $215,485 over the last quarter. Insiders own 0.68% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Nuveen Churchill Direct Lending

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Invesco Ltd. raised its position in Nuveen Churchill Direct Lending by 2,179.1% in the fourth quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 742,296 shares of the company’s stock worth $9,902,000 after purchasing an additional 709,727 shares in the last quarter. Ares Management LLC boosted its holdings in Nuveen Churchill Direct Lending by 188.3% during the fourth quarter. Ares Management LLC now owns 360,830 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,813,000 after purchasing an additional 235,674 shares in the last quarter. Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. grew its stake in shares of Nuveen Churchill Direct Lending by 213.1% in the 4th quarter. Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. now owns 339,978 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,535,000 after purchasing an additional 231,400 shares during the period. Bulldog Investors LLP bought a new stake in shares of Nuveen Churchill Direct Lending in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $2,313,000. Finally, Van ECK Associates Corp raised its holdings in shares of Nuveen Churchill Direct Lending by 14.6% in the 4th quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 839,143 shares of the company’s stock worth $11,194,000 after buying an additional 106,610 shares in the last quarter.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on NCDL shares. UBS Group cut their price target on Nuveen Churchill Direct Lending from $15.50 to $14.75 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, May 18th. Zacks Research raised Nuveen Churchill Direct Lending from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 21st. Wall Street Zen upgraded Nuveen Churchill Direct Lending from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, July 25th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lowered shares of Nuveen Churchill Direct Lending from an “equal weight” rating to an “underweight” rating and cut their price objective for the company from $13.00 to $12.00 in a research report on Friday, June 12th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, three have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $14.44.

Nuveen Churchill Direct Lending Company Profile

Nuveen Churchill Direct Lending (NYSE:NCDL) is a closed-end management investment company that seeks to provide shareholders with attractive risk-adjusted returns through a diversified portfolio of direct lending instruments. Established in early 2022, NCDL focuses on privately negotiated debt investments in middle-market companies, primarily within the United States. The fund offers investors access to a segment of the credit markets that has historically been less correlated with public debt markets, aiming to capture yield premiums associated with private lending.

The fund’s investment strategy centers on senior secured loans, unitranche financings and selectively structured mezzanine debt.