Carlyle Secured Lending, Inc. (NASDAQ:CGBD) Receives $14.33 Consensus Target Price from Analysts

Shares of Carlyle Secured Lending, Inc. (NASDAQ:CGBD) have been assigned an average recommendation of “Hold” from the nine ratings firms that are currently covering the company, MarketBeat.com reports. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company. The average 1-year price target among analysts that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $14.3333.

Several equities research analysts have weighed in on the company. Wells Fargo & Company cut their target price on Carlyle Secured Lending from $15.00 to $14.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, November 6th. Raymond James Financial upgraded Carlyle Secured Lending from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $15.00 price objective for the company in a research report on Tuesday, October 7th. B. Riley reduced their price objective on Carlyle Secured Lending from $14.50 to $13.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, November 11th. Zacks Research upgraded Carlyle Secured Lending from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 9th. Finally, Citigroup assumed coverage on shares of Carlyle Secured Lending in a report on Monday, December 8th. They issued a “market perform” rating for the company.

Carlyle Secured Lending Trading Up 0.3%

Shares of Carlyle Secured Lending stock opened at $12.70 on Thursday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.90, a current ratio of 0.90 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.10. Carlyle Secured Lending has a 12-month low of $11.55 and a 12-month high of $18.64. The company has a market capitalization of $647.19 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.76 and a beta of 0.69. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $12.48 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $13.09.

Carlyle Secured Lending (NASDAQ:CGBD) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, November 4th. The company reported $0.38 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.39 by ($0.01). The firm had revenue of $66.51 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $69.61 million. Carlyle Secured Lending had a return on equity of 9.24% and a net margin of 30.18%. On average, analysts forecast that Carlyle Secured Lending will post 1.97 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Carlyle Secured Lending Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, January 16th. Investors of record on Wednesday, December 31st will be paid a $0.40 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, December 31st. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 12.6%. Carlyle Secured Lending’s dividend payout ratio is presently 135.59%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Carlyle Secured Lending news, Director John G. Nestor sold 7,085 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, November 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $11.87, for a total transaction of $84,098.95. Following the sale, the director owned 7,508 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $89,119.96. The trade was a 48.55% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 0.61% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Carlyle Secured Lending

Hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. Cascade Financial Partners LLC bought a new stake in shares of Carlyle Secured Lending in the 2nd quarter valued at about $600,000. Legal & General Group Plc lifted its stake in shares of Carlyle Secured Lending by 38.4% in the second quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 459,870 shares of the company’s stock worth $6,291,000 after acquiring an additional 127,681 shares during the period. Prime Capital Investment Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Carlyle Secured Lending in the second quarter valued at approximately $30,158,000. Cliffwater LLC bought a new stake in Carlyle Secured Lending in the second quarter valued at approximately $7,505,000. Finally, Transcend Capital Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Carlyle Secured Lending during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $342,000. 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.