Nuveen Churchill Direct Lending (NYSE:NCDL) Stock Rating Upgraded by Wall Street Zen

Nuveen Churchill Direct Lending (NYSE:NCDL) was upgraded by investment analysts at Wall Street Zen from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report released on Saturday.

Several other research firms also recently commented on NCDL. Zacks Research raised shares of Nuveen Churchill Direct Lending from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday. Wells Fargo & Company downgraded Nuveen Churchill Direct Lending from an “equal weight” rating to an “underweight” rating and decreased their target price for the stock from $13.00 to $12.00 in a research report on Friday, June 12th. Finally, UBS Group dropped their price target on Nuveen Churchill Direct Lending from $15.50 to $14.75 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, May 18th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, three have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $14.44.

Nuveen Churchill Direct Lending Price Performance

Shares of NCDL stock opened at $12.14 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $599.84 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.12 and a beta of 0.51. Nuveen Churchill Direct Lending has a one year low of $11.97 and a one year high of $17.11. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $12.69 and its 200-day moving average price is $13.26.

Nuveen Churchill Direct Lending (NYSE:NCDL) last released its earnings results on Thursday, May 7th. The company reported $0.41 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.42 by ($0.01). The firm had revenue of $17.15 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $47.79 million. Nuveen Churchill Direct Lending had a net margin of 29.56% and a return on equity of 9.80%. Equities research analysts expect that Nuveen Churchill Direct Lending will post 1.6 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Nuveen Churchill Direct Lending news, Treasurer Shaul Vichness bought 5,000 shares of Nuveen Churchill Direct Lending stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 14th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $13.20 per share, for a total transaction of $66,000.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the treasurer directly owned 30,705 shares in the company, valued at approximately $405,306. This trade represents a 19.45% increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, CAO Marissa Hassen bought 3,782 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 12th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $13.21 per share, with a total value of $49,960.22. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer owned 9,780 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $129,193.80. The trade was a 63.05% increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase is available in the SEC filing. Insiders have acquired a total of 16,282 shares of company stock worth $215,485 over the last quarter. Company insiders own 0.68% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Nuveen Churchill Direct Lending

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in NCDL. BNP Paribas Financial Markets boosted its position in Nuveen Churchill Direct Lending by 190.2% in the 3rd quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 2,400 shares of the company’s stock valued at $33,000 after buying an additional 1,573 shares during the period. Advisory Services Network LLC purchased a new position in shares of Nuveen Churchill Direct Lending during the third quarter worth approximately $38,000. NewEdge Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of Nuveen Churchill Direct Lending by 33.0% during the second quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 4,511 shares of the company’s stock worth $73,000 after acquiring an additional 1,118 shares during the period. Quadrant Capital Group LLC bought a new stake in shares of Nuveen Churchill Direct Lending during the third quarter valued at approximately $80,000. Finally, State of Wyoming bought a new stake in shares of Nuveen Churchill Direct Lending during the second quarter valued at approximately $108,000.

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.