Keefe, Bruyette & Woods Lowers Nuveen Churchill Direct Lending (NYSE:NCDL) Price Target to $15.00

Nuveen Churchill Direct Lending (NYSE:NCDL) had its target price lowered by equities researchers at Keefe, Bruyette & Woods from $16.00 to $15.00 in a report issued on Friday,Benzinga reports. The firm presently has a “market perform” rating on the stock. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods’ target price would indicate a potential upside of 16.46% from the stock’s previous close.

Other equities analysts also recently issued research reports about the company. Zacks Research raised Nuveen Churchill Direct Lending from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, January 9th. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Nuveen Churchill Direct Lending from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Sunday, February 22nd. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company cut their target price on shares of Nuveen Churchill Direct Lending from $15.00 to $14.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, November 5th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Nuveen Churchill Direct Lending presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $15.50.

Nuveen Churchill Direct Lending Stock Down 3.6%

Shares of NYSE:NCDL opened at $12.88 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $636.14 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.83 and a beta of 0.40. Nuveen Churchill Direct Lending has a 12 month low of $12.76 and a 12 month high of $17.72. 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 company has a 50-day moving average price of $13.60 and a 200 day moving average price of $14.33.

Nuveen Churchill Direct Lending (NYSE:NCDL) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 26th. The company reported $0.44 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.43 by $0.01. The company had revenue of $26.36 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $49.60 million. Nuveen Churchill Direct Lending had a net margin of 31.57% and a return on equity of 10.41%. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Nuveen Churchill Direct Lending will post 2.28 earnings per share for the current year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Nuveen Churchill Direct Lending

A number of institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of NCDL. Virtu Financial LLC raised its stake in shares of Nuveen Churchill Direct Lending by 181.2% during the 4th quarter. Virtu Financial LLC now owns 41,725 shares of the company’s stock valued at $557,000 after buying an additional 26,885 shares during the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. grew its holdings in Nuveen Churchill Direct Lending by 2,179.1% during the fourth quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 742,296 shares of the company’s stock worth $9,902,000 after acquiring an additional 709,727 shares during the period. NewEdge Advisors LLC grew its holdings in Nuveen Churchill Direct Lending by 31.2% during the fourth quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 6,073 shares of the company’s stock worth $81,000 after acquiring an additional 1,443 shares during the period. VARCOV Co. purchased a new position in Nuveen Churchill Direct Lending during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $371,000. Finally, Almitas Capital LLC acquired a new position in Nuveen Churchill Direct Lending in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $936,000.

Key Nuveen Churchill Direct Lending News

Here are the key news stories impacting Nuveen Churchill Direct Lending this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Company declared a quarterly dividend of $0.36/share (ex-div March 31, payable Apr 28), implying a ~10.8% yield — supports income-focused investor demand. Dividend Announcement
• Positive Sentiment: Company/press releases and some coverage report net investment income/EPS of $0.44 for Q4, modestly beating consensus and highlighting ongoing income generation and a reported ROE (~11%). Q4 Beat Coverage
• Neutral Sentiment: Management hosted an earnings call with a published transcript and presentation; these provide details on portfolio performance, NAV dynamics and outlook — useful for assessing credit quality and distribution sustainability. Earnings Highlights Call Transcript
• Negative Sentiment: Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lowered its price target from $16 to $15 and set a “market perform” rating — a downgrade that can weigh on sentiment and short-term flow. Analyst Note
• Negative Sentiment: Some market reports show mixed/contradictory Q4 metrics (one source reported EPS of $0.32 and revenue well below expectations at ~$26.4M versus ~$49.6M), raising questions on reporting differences and near-term earnings clarity. That uncertainty likely contributed to the sell-off. Earnings/Metrics Report

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.