Zacks Research Downgrades Nuveen Churchill Direct Lending (NYSE:NCDL) to Strong Sell

Nuveen Churchill Direct Lending (NYSE:NCDL) was downgraded by research analysts at Zacks Research from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a report released on Monday,Zacks.com reports.

Other equities analysts also recently issued research reports about the stock. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their target price 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. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods cut their price target on Nuveen Churchill Direct Lending from $17.00 to $16.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, November 5th. Wall Street Zen lowered Nuveen Churchill Direct Lending from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Saturday. Finally, UBS Group dropped their target price on 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. One analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, three have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $15.75.

Nuveen Churchill Direct Lending Stock Performance

Shares of Nuveen Churchill Direct Lending stock opened at $14.34 on Monday. Nuveen Churchill Direct Lending has a 12 month low of $13.16 and a 12 month high of $18.01. The firm has a market capitalization of $707.96 million, a P/E ratio of 9.37 and a beta of 0.38. The company has a current ratio of 1.65, a quick ratio of 1.65 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.25. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $14.47 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $15.58.

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

Insider Transactions at Nuveen Churchill Direct Lending

In related news, Treasurer Shaul Vichness acquired 5,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, September 16th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $14.85 per share, with a total value of $74,250.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the treasurer directly owned 15,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $222,750. This trade represents a 50.00% increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CEO Kenneth J. Kencel acquired 20,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, November 6th. The shares were bought at an average price of $14.22 per share, for a total transaction of $284,400.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 48,117 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $684,223.74. This trade represents a 71.13% increase in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this purchase provides additional information. 0.62% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of Nuveen Churchill Direct Lending

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of NCDL. NewEdge Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in Nuveen Churchill Direct Lending by 33.0% in the second quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 4,511 shares of the company’s stock valued at $73,000 after acquiring an additional 1,118 shares during the period. Global Retirement Partners LLC purchased a new stake in Nuveen Churchill Direct Lending during the third quarter valued at approximately $85,000. State of Wyoming purchased a new stake in Nuveen Churchill Direct Lending during the second quarter valued at approximately $108,000. Quantbot Technologies LP bought a new position in Nuveen Churchill Direct Lending in the second quarter worth approximately $152,000. Finally, AlphaQuest LLC purchased a new position in shares of Nuveen Churchill Direct Lending during the 3rd quarter worth $135,000.

Nuveen Churchill Direct Lending Company Profile

Nuveen Churchill Direct Lending Corp. is a specialty finance company focused primarily on investing in senior secured loans to private equity-owned U.S. middle market companies. It has elected to be regulated as a business development company. Nuveen Churchill Direct Lending Corp. is based in NEW YORK.