Carlyle Secured Lending, Inc. (NASDAQ:CGBD) Given Consensus Recommendation of “Hold” by Analysts

Carlyle Secured Lending, Inc. (NASDAQ:CGBD) has earned a consensus rating of “Hold” from the seven brokerages that are currently covering the company, Marketbeat reports. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating on the company. The average 12 month target price among brokers that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $12.50.

Several research firms have recently issued reports on CGBD. B. Riley Financial reissued a “buy” rating on shares of Carlyle Secured Lending in a research report on Tuesday, May 12th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price objective on shares of Carlyle Secured Lending from $12.00 to $10.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, March 13th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price objective on shares of Carlyle Secured Lending from $13.00 to $12.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, May 13th.

Carlyle Secured Lending Stock Performance

NASDAQ:CGBD opened at $10.86 on Wednesday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.72, a current ratio of 1.72 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.24. The company has a market cap of $754.77 million, a P/E ratio of 15.30 and a beta of 0.66. Carlyle Secured Lending has a fifty-two week low of $10.61 and a fifty-two week high of $14.49. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $11.26 and its two-hundred day moving average is $11.93.

Carlyle Secured Lending (NASDAQ:CGBD) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Monday, May 11th. The company reported $0.36 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.35 by $0.01. The company had revenue of $64.08 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $65.78 million. Carlyle Secured Lending had a net margin of 19.52% and a return on equity of 8.99%. Analysts expect that Carlyle Secured Lending will post 1.4 EPS for the current year.

Carlyle Secured Lending Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, July 16th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, June 30th will be given a $0.35 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, June 30th. This represents a $1.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 12.9%. Carlyle Secured Lending’s dividend payout ratio is presently 225.35%.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director John G. Nestor sold 4,401 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, March 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $11.29, for a total value of $49,687.29. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 5,516 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $62,275.64. This represents a 44.38% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. 0.61% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Carlyle Secured Lending

Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in CGBD. Rivernorth Capital Management LLC increased its position in shares of Carlyle Secured Lending by 58.2% in the fourth quarter. Rivernorth Capital Management LLC now owns 1,900,728 shares of the company’s stock worth $23,740,000 after acquiring an additional 699,586 shares in the last quarter. Toronto Dominion Bank acquired a new stake in Carlyle Secured Lending during the 4th quarter valued at $6,245,000. Two Sigma Investments LP grew its holdings in Carlyle Secured Lending by 199.4% during the 3rd quarter. Two Sigma Investments LP now owns 727,570 shares of the company’s stock valued at $9,095,000 after purchasing an additional 484,581 shares in the last quarter. North Ground Capital acquired a new stake in Carlyle Secured Lending during the 3rd quarter valued at $5,952,000. Finally, Closed End Fund Advisors Inc. acquired a new stake in Carlyle Secured Lending during the 4th quarter valued at $3,190,000. 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.