Nuveen Churchill Direct Lending (NYSE:NCDL) Reaches New 1-Year Low – Here’s Why

Nuveen Churchill Direct Lending Corp. (NYSE:NCDL) hit a new 52-week low during trading on Tuesday . The stock traded as low as $12.50 and last traded at $12.5750, with a volume of 40850 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $12.90.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

NCDL has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Nuveen Churchill Direct Lending from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 10th. Truist Financial decreased their price target on shares of Nuveen Churchill Direct Lending from $18.00 to $16.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, March 4th. Zacks Research upgraded shares of Nuveen Churchill Direct Lending from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, January 9th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods cut their price objective on Nuveen Churchill Direct Lending from $16.00 to $15.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, February 27th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company reduced 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 report on Wednesday, March 4th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have given a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $15.40.

Nuveen Churchill Direct Lending Price Performance

The firm has a market cap of $626.02 million, a PE ratio of 9.68 and a beta of 0.32. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.27, a current ratio of 1.85 and a quick ratio of 1.85. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $13.40 and a 200 day simple moving average of $13.89.

Nuveen Churchill Direct Lending (NYSE:NCDL) last issued its quarterly 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 during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $49.60 million. As a group, equities analysts expect 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 disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 28th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, March 31st will be issued a $0.36 dividend. This represents a $1.44 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 11.4%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, March 31st. Nuveen Churchill Direct Lending’s dividend payout ratio is 109.92%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Nuveen Churchill Direct Lending

In related news, insider Jason Strife purchased 7,690 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 4th. The shares were bought at an average price of $13.40 per share, for a total transaction of $103,046.00. Following the purchase, the insider directly owned 15,737 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $210,875.80. This represents a 95.56% increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director James Joseph Ritchie acquired 17,857 shares of Nuveen Churchill Direct Lending stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 10th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $13.71 per share, with a total value of $244,819.47. Following the transaction, the director owned 78,193 shares in the company, valued at $1,072,026.03. This represents a 29.60% increase in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this purchase provides additional information. In the last ninety days, insiders have purchased 47,547 shares of company stock valued at $635,105. 0.62% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Lido Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Nuveen Churchill Direct Lending in the second quarter worth $349,000. Quantbot Technologies LP bought a new position in shares of Nuveen Churchill Direct Lending during the second quarter valued at $152,000. Cresset Asset Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Nuveen Churchill Direct Lending by 17.6% during the second quarter. Cresset Asset Management LLC now owns 36,025 shares of the company’s stock valued at $599,000 after acquiring an additional 5,391 shares in the last quarter. Callodine Capital Management LP raised its position in shares of Nuveen Churchill Direct Lending by 5.0% in the 2nd quarter. Callodine Capital Management LP now owns 525,000 shares of the company’s stock worth $8,500,000 after purchasing an additional 25,000 shares during the last quarter. Finally, NewEdge Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of Nuveen Churchill Direct Lending by 33.0% in the 2nd quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 4,511 shares of the company’s stock worth $73,000 after purchasing an additional 1,118 shares during the last quarter.

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.