Carlyle Secured Lending, Inc. (NASDAQ:CGBD) Given Consensus Recommendation of “Hold” by Brokerages

Shares of Carlyle Secured Lending, Inc. (NASDAQ:CGBD) have been assigned an average recommendation of “Hold” from the nine ratings firms that are covering the stock, MarketBeat Ratings reports. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating on the company. The average 1 year target price among brokers that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $14.3333.

CGBD has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price target on shares of Carlyle Secured Lending from $15.00 to $14.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, November 6th. Zacks Research upgraded Carlyle Secured Lending from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, December 9th. Raymond James Financial upgraded Carlyle Secured Lending from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $15.00 target price on the stock in a report on Tuesday, October 7th. Citizens Jmp initiated coverage on Carlyle Secured Lending in a research note on Monday, December 8th. They set a “market perform” rating for the company. Finally, Wall Street Zen upgraded Carlyle Secured Lending from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, January 3rd.

Carlyle Secured Lending Stock Down 2.9%

CGBD opened at $12.29 on Thursday. Carlyle Secured Lending has a 12 month low of $11.55 and a 12 month high of $18.64. The business has a 50-day moving average of $12.48 and a two-hundred day moving average of $13.10. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.10, a current ratio of 0.90 and a quick ratio of 0.90. The stock has a market capitalization of $626.30 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.42 and a beta of 0.69.

Carlyle Secured Lending (NASDAQ:CGBD) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, November 4th. The company reported $0.38 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.39 by ($0.01). Carlyle Secured Lending had a return on equity of 9.24% and a net margin of 30.18%.The company had revenue of $66.51 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $69.61 million. On average, research analysts expect that Carlyle Secured Lending will post 1.97 earnings per share for the current year.

Carlyle Secured Lending Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, January 16th. Investors of record on Wednesday, December 31st will be issued a $0.40 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, December 31st. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 13.0%. Carlyle Secured Lending’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 135.59%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Carlyle Secured Lending news, Director John G. Nestor sold 7,085 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $11.87, for a total transaction of $84,098.95. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 7,508 shares in the company, valued at $89,119.96. The trade was a 48.55% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. 0.61% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Carlyle Secured Lending

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in CGBD. Advisory Research Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Carlyle Secured Lending by 9.2% during the 3rd quarter. Advisory Research Inc. now owns 11,340 shares of the company’s stock valued at $142,000 after acquiring an additional 953 shares in the last quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. lifted its stake in shares of Carlyle Secured Lending by 71.9% during the second quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 2,630 shares of the company’s stock worth $36,000 after purchasing an additional 1,100 shares in the last quarter. Rossby Financial LCC acquired a new position in shares of Carlyle Secured Lending during the third quarter worth about $25,000. CANADA LIFE ASSURANCE Co boosted its position in shares of Carlyle Secured Lending by 4.6% in the second quarter. CANADA LIFE ASSURANCE Co now owns 45,932 shares of the company’s stock worth $629,000 after buying an additional 2,040 shares during the period. Finally, HB Wealth Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Carlyle Secured Lending by 18.2% in the third quarter. HB Wealth Management LLC now owns 13,940 shares of the company’s stock valued at $174,000 after buying an additional 2,150 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 24.51% of the company’s stock.

About Carlyle Secured Lending

Carlyle Secured Lending, Inc (NASDAQ: CGBD) is a closed-end, non-diversified business development company that provides customized debt financing solutions to middle-market companies. Chartered under the Investment Company Act of 1940, the company invests primarily in floating-rate senior secured loans, including first-lien, unitranche and one-stop structures. Its objective is to generate current income and capital appreciation through disciplined credit selection and active portfolio management.

The firm focuses on U.S.