Nuveen Churchill Direct Lending (NYSE:NCDL) Trading Up 1.6% – Time to Buy?

Shares of Nuveen Churchill Direct Lending Corp. (NYSE:NCDL) were up 1.6% during trading on Thursday . The company traded as high as $13.05 and last traded at $12.9950. 252,564 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, an increase of 41% from the average daily volume of 179,228 shares. The stock had previously closed at $12.79.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company cut shares of Nuveen Churchill Direct Lending from an “equal weight” rating to an “underweight” rating and decreased their price objective for the company from $13.00 to $12.00 in a report on Friday, June 12th. Zacks Research downgraded shares of Nuveen Churchill Direct Lending from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 26th. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Nuveen Churchill Direct Lending from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Saturday, June 6th. Finally, UBS Group reduced their price target on shares of Nuveen Churchill Direct Lending from $15.50 to $14.75 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, May 18th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, two have assigned a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Reduce” and an average price target of $14.44.

Nuveen Churchill Direct Lending Stock Performance

The company has a 50-day moving average of $12.79 and a 200-day moving average of $13.30. The firm has a market capitalization of $641.82 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.83 and a beta of 0.51.

Nuveen Churchill Direct Lending (NYSE:NCDL) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, May 7th. The company reported $0.41 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.42 by ($0.01). Nuveen Churchill Direct Lending had a return on equity of 9.80% and a net margin of 29.56%.The company had revenue of $17.15 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $47.79 million. As a group, analysts anticipate that Nuveen Churchill Direct Lending Corp. will post 1.6 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Nuveen Churchill Direct Lending Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, July 28th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, June 30th will be given a dividend of $0.36 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, June 30th. This represents a $1.44 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 11.1%. Nuveen Churchill Direct Lending’s dividend payout ratio is currently 120.00%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Treasurer Shaul Vichness acquired 5,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 14th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $13.20 per share, with a total value of $66,000.00. Following the transaction, the treasurer owned 30,705 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $405,306. The trade was a 19.45% increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, VP John Mccally bought 7,500 shares of Nuveen Churchill Direct Lending stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 15th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $13.27 per share, with a total value of $99,525.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the vice president owned 15,245 shares in the company, valued at approximately $202,301.15. This trade represents a 96.84% increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase is available in the SEC filing. Insiders have purchased a total of 16,282 shares of company stock worth $215,485 over the last ninety days. Company insiders own 0.68% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Nuveen Churchill Direct Lending

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of NCDL. UBS Group AG lifted its holdings in shares of Nuveen Churchill Direct Lending by 40.0% in the fourth quarter. UBS Group AG now owns 689,050 shares of the company’s stock valued at $9,192,000 after purchasing an additional 196,956 shares in the last quarter. Closed End Fund Advisors Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Nuveen Churchill Direct Lending during the fourth quarter worth about $7,374,000. Vise Technologies Inc. bought a new position in shares of Nuveen Churchill Direct Lending during the fourth quarter worth about $1,271,000. Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Nuveen Churchill Direct Lending by 14.5% during the fourth quarter. Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc. now owns 479,357 shares of the company’s stock worth $6,395,000 after buying an additional 60,786 shares in the last quarter. Finally, BI Asset Management Fondsmaeglerselskab A S raised its position in Nuveen Churchill Direct Lending by 454.3% in the 4th quarter. BI Asset Management Fondsmaeglerselskab A S now owns 150,476 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,007,000 after buying an additional 123,327 shares during the last quarter.

About Nuveen Churchill Direct Lending

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.