Nuveen Churchill Direct Lending (NYSE:NCDL) Shares Gap Down – Time to Sell?

Nuveen Churchill Direct Lending Corp. (NYSE:NCDL) shares gapped down prior to trading on Friday . The stock had previously closed at $13.83, but opened at $13.38. Nuveen Churchill Direct Lending shares last traded at $13.2830, with a volume of 3,866 shares traded.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

NCDL has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. UBS Group reduced their price objective on shares of Nuveen Churchill Direct Lending from $17.00 to $15.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, October 14th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reduced their price target on shares of Nuveen Churchill Direct Lending from $17.00 to $16.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, November 5th. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price objective on shares of Nuveen Churchill Direct Lending from $15.00 to $14.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, November 5th. Wall Street Zen raised Nuveen Churchill Direct Lending from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, December 20th. Finally, Zacks Research lowered Nuveen Churchill Direct Lending from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a report on Monday, November 10th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, three have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Nuveen Churchill Direct Lending presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $15.75.

Nuveen Churchill Direct Lending Trading Down 1.0%

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.25, a current ratio of 1.65 and a quick ratio of 1.65. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $14.32 and its two-hundred day moving average is $15.19. The company has a market cap of $652.44 million, a P/E ratio of 8.68 and a beta of 0.41.

Nuveen Churchill Direct Lending (NYSE:NCDL) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, November 4th. The company reported $0.43 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.46 by ($0.03). The company had revenue of $51.11 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $52.00 million. Nuveen Churchill Direct Lending had a net margin of 36.83% and a return on equity of 11.13%. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Nuveen Churchill Direct Lending Corp. will post 2.28 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Nuveen Churchill Direct Lending Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, January 27th. Investors of record on Wednesday, December 31st will be given a dividend of $0.45 per share. This represents a $1.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 13.6%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, December 31st. Nuveen Churchill Direct Lending’s dividend payout ratio is 117.65%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Nuveen Churchill Direct Lending news, Director Kenneth M. Miranda acquired 2,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, November 19th. The shares were bought at an average price of $14.10 per share, with a total value of $28,200.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director owned 27,000 shares in the company, valued at $380,700. This represents a 8.00% increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Treasurer Shaul Vichness bought 5,000 shares of Nuveen Churchill Direct Lending stock in a transaction on Monday, November 17th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $14.20 per share, with a total value of $71,000.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the treasurer owned 20,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $284,000. The trade was a 33.33% increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase is available in the SEC filing. Over the last three months, insiders have bought 27,000 shares of company stock valued at $383,600. Insiders own 0.62% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Nuveen Churchill Direct Lending

A number of hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. Dynamic Technology Lab Private Ltd bought a new position in Nuveen Churchill Direct Lending in the 1st quarter worth $491,000. Adams Asset Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of Nuveen Churchill Direct Lending by 9.4% during the 2nd quarter. Adams Asset Advisors LLC now owns 90,151 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,460,000 after acquiring an additional 7,757 shares during the period. Opal Wealth Advisors LLC increased its holdings in Nuveen Churchill Direct Lending by 46.3% in the 2nd quarter. Opal Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 498,655 shares of the company’s stock worth $8,073,000 after acquiring an additional 157,763 shares in the last quarter. GraniteShares Advisors LLC raised its stake in Nuveen Churchill Direct Lending by 6.7% during the 2nd quarter. GraniteShares Advisors LLC now owns 167,084 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,705,000 after acquiring an additional 10,439 shares during the period. Finally, Tranquility Partners LLC raised its stake in Nuveen Churchill Direct Lending by 15.8% during the 2nd quarter. Tranquility Partners LLC now owns 84,333 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,365,000 after acquiring an additional 11,510 shares during the period.

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.