Carlyle Secured Lending (NASDAQ:CGBD) Sets New 52-Week Low – Should You Sell?

Shares of Carlyle Secured Lending, Inc. (NASDAQ:CGBD) hit a new 52-week low during trading on Thursday . The stock traded as low as $10.47 and last traded at $10.5950, with a volume of 2071 shares. The stock had previously closed at $10.55.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their target price on Carlyle Secured Lending from $13.00 to $12.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, May 13th. B. Riley Financial reissued a “buy” rating on shares of Carlyle Secured Lending in a report on Tuesday, May 12th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price objective on shares of Carlyle Secured Lending from $12.00 to $10.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, March 13th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have assigned a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Carlyle Secured Lending currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $12.50.

Carlyle Secured Lending Stock Performance

The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $11.12 and a 200-day simple moving average of $11.64. The stock has a market cap of $752.34 million, a P/E ratio of 15.25 and a beta of 0.62. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.24, a quick ratio of 1.72 and a current ratio of 1.72.

Carlyle Secured Lending (NASDAQ:CGBD) last released its quarterly earnings results on Monday, May 11th. The company reported $0.36 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.35 by $0.01. The firm had revenue of $64.08 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $65.78 million. Carlyle Secured Lending had a return on equity of 8.99% and a net margin of 19.52%. On average, equities analysts expect that Carlyle Secured Lending, Inc. will post 1.36 earnings per share for the current year.

Carlyle Secured Lending Cuts Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, July 16th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, June 30th will be paid a $0.35 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, June 30th. This represents a $1.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 12.9%. Carlyle Secured Lending’s payout ratio is presently 225.35%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Carlyle Secured Lending

A number of large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Entropy Technologies LP lifted its position in shares of Carlyle Secured Lending by 37.4% in the first quarter. Entropy Technologies LP now owns 18,913 shares of the company’s stock worth $207,000 after purchasing an additional 5,146 shares in the last quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers grew its position in Carlyle Secured Lending by 25.0% in the first quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 94,894 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,038,000 after purchasing an additional 18,974 shares in the last quarter. Glenview Trust Co acquired a new stake in Carlyle Secured Lending in the 1st quarter valued at $153,000. Independent Financial Group LLC acquired a new stake in Carlyle Secured Lending in the 1st quarter valued at $250,000. Finally, Beaumont Financial Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Carlyle Secured Lending in the 1st quarter valued at $110,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.