Nuveen Churchill Direct Lending (NYSE:NCDL) Upgraded at Wall Street Zen

Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Nuveen Churchill Direct Lending (NYSE:NCDL) from a sell rating to a hold rating in a research note published on Saturday morning.

NCDL has been the subject of several other research reports. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lowered their target price on shares of Nuveen Churchill Direct Lending from $17.00 to $16.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, November 5th. UBS Group cut their price target on shares of Nuveen Churchill Direct Lending from $17.00 to $15.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, October 14th. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price objective on shares of Nuveen Churchill Direct Lending from $15.00 to $14.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, November 5th. Finally, Zacks Research lowered Nuveen Churchill Direct Lending from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research report on Monday, November 10th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, three have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $15.75.

Nuveen Churchill Direct Lending Price Performance

Shares of Nuveen Churchill Direct Lending stock opened at $13.84 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $683.51 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.05 and a beta of 0.35. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.25, a quick ratio of 1.65 and a current ratio of 1.65. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $14.37 and a 200-day moving average price of $15.32. Nuveen Churchill Direct Lending has a one year low of $13.16 and a one year high of $18.01.

Nuveen Churchill Direct Lending (NYSE:NCDL) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, November 4th. The company reported $0.43 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.46 by ($0.03). The company had revenue of $51.11 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $52.00 million. Nuveen Churchill Direct Lending had a net margin of 36.83% and a return on equity of 11.13%. Equities analysts expect that Nuveen Churchill Direct Lending will post 2.28 EPS for the current year.

Nuveen Churchill Direct Lending Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, January 27th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, December 31st will be given a $0.45 dividend. This represents a $1.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 13.0%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, December 31st. Nuveen Churchill Direct Lending’s payout ratio is 117.65%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Treasurer Shaul Vichness bought 5,000 shares of Nuveen Churchill Direct Lending stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 17th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $14.20 per share, with a total value of $71,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the treasurer owned 20,000 shares in the company, valued at $284,000. The trade was a 33.33% increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, Director Kenneth M. Miranda purchased 2,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 19th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $14.10 per share, with a total value of $28,200.00. Following the purchase, the director directly owned 27,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $380,700. This represents a 8.00% increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase is available in the SEC filing. Insiders have purchased 27,000 shares of company stock worth $383,600 in the last three months. Corporate insiders own 0.62% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Nuveen Churchill Direct Lending

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Sunbelt Securities Inc. grew its position in shares of Nuveen Churchill Direct Lending by 39.9% during the 3rd quarter. Sunbelt Securities Inc. now owns 10,500 shares of the company’s stock worth $145,000 after buying an additional 2,995 shares in the last quarter. Advisory Services Network LLC bought a new position in Nuveen Churchill Direct Lending during the 3rd quarter worth about $38,000. Susquehanna International Group LLP purchased a new position in Nuveen Churchill Direct Lending during the 3rd quarter valued at about $152,000. Millennium Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Nuveen Churchill Direct Lending by 64.1% in the 3rd quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 136,567 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,885,000 after purchasing an additional 53,342 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Lido Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of Nuveen Churchill Direct Lending by 113.6% in the 3rd quarter. Lido Advisors LLC now owns 44,856 shares of the company’s stock worth $639,000 after purchasing an additional 23,856 shares during the period.

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.