Insider Buying: Nuveen Churchill Direct Lending (NYSE:NCDL) CEO Acquires 10,000 Shares of Stock

Nuveen Churchill Direct Lending Corp. (NYSE:NCDL) CEO Kenneth Kencel acquired 10,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 3rd. The shares were purchased at an average price of $13.04 per share, for a total transaction of $130,400.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 58,117 shares in the company, valued at approximately $757,845.68. This trade represents a 20.78% increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website.

Nuveen Churchill Direct Lending Trading Down 0.1%

NYSE:NCDL traded down $0.01 during midday trading on Thursday, hitting $13.33. 211,603 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 277,018. Nuveen Churchill Direct Lending Corp. has a 12-month low of $12.54 and a 12-month high of $17.59. The company has a current ratio of 1.85, a quick ratio of 1.85 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.27. The firm has a market capitalization of $658.33 million, a P/E ratio of 10.18 and a beta of 0.44. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $13.57 and its 200-day moving average is $14.27.

Nuveen Churchill Direct Lending (NYSE:NCDL) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, February 26th. The company reported $0.44 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.43 by $0.01. Nuveen Churchill Direct Lending had a net margin of 31.57% and a return on equity of 10.48%. The company had revenue of $26.36 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $49.60 million. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Nuveen Churchill Direct Lending Corp. will post 2.28 EPS for the current year.

Nuveen Churchill Direct Lending Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 28th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, March 31st will be paid a $0.36 dividend. This represents a $1.44 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 10.8%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, March 31st. Nuveen Churchill Direct Lending’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 109.92%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Nuveen Churchill Direct Lending

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. BNP Paribas Financial Markets grew its holdings in Nuveen Churchill Direct Lending by 190.2% during the 3rd quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 2,400 shares of the company’s stock worth $33,000 after acquiring an additional 1,573 shares during the period. Advisory Services Network LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Nuveen Churchill Direct Lending during the third quarter worth $38,000. NewEdge Advisors LLC increased its stake in Nuveen Churchill Direct Lending by 33.0% in the second quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 4,511 shares of the company’s stock valued at $73,000 after acquiring an additional 1,118 shares during the last quarter. Quadrant Capital Group LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Nuveen Churchill Direct Lending during the third quarter valued at about $80,000. Finally, Global Retirement Partners LLC acquired a new position in Nuveen Churchill Direct Lending in the third quarter valued at $85,000.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages have recently weighed in on NCDL. Wells Fargo & Company cut their target price on Nuveen Churchill Direct Lending from $14.00 to $13.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday. Wall Street Zen cut shares of Nuveen Churchill Direct Lending from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Monday. Truist Financial lowered their price objective on Nuveen Churchill Direct Lending from $18.00 to $16.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday. Zacks Research raised shares of Nuveen Churchill Direct Lending from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, January 9th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods cut their price objective on shares of Nuveen Churchill Direct Lending from $16.00 to $15.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, February 27th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $15.40.

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.