Carlyle Secured Lending (NASDAQ:CGBD) Releases Earnings Results

Carlyle Secured Lending (NASDAQ:CGBD) released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 24th. The company reported $0.33 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.38 by ($0.05), Zacks reports. Carlyle Secured Lending had a return on equity of 8.56% and a net margin of 27.38%.The business had revenue of $66.91 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $67.26 million.

Carlyle Secured Lending Stock Up 2.9%

Shares of CGBD stock traded up $0.33 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, hitting $11.77. 843,019 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 697,112. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.31, a current ratio of 0.85 and a quick ratio of 0.85. The stock has a market cap of $832.12 million, a P/E ratio of 11.54 and a beta of 0.65. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $11.31 and its two-hundred day moving average is $12.07. Carlyle Secured Lending has a 52-week low of $10.61 and a 52-week high of $15.15.

Carlyle Secured Lending Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, April 16th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, March 31st will be given a $0.40 dividend. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 13.6%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, March 31st. Carlyle Secured Lending’s payout ratio is presently 156.86%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have weighed in on CGBD. Wall Street Zen raised Carlyle Secured Lending from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, January 3rd. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price objective on shares of Carlyle Secured Lending from $14.00 to $13.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, February 27th. B. Riley Financial raised Carlyle Secured Lending from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $13.00 price target on the stock in a report on Wednesday, February 25th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price target on shares of Carlyle Secured Lending from $12.00 to $10.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, March 13th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $13.20.

Insider Activity at Carlyle Secured Lending

In related news, Director John G. Nestor sold 4,401 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, March 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $11.29, for a total transaction of $49,687.29. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 5,516 shares in the company, valued at $62,275.64. The trade was a 44.38% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Corporate insiders own 0.61% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Carlyle Secured Lending

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in CGBD. Rivernorth Capital Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Carlyle Secured Lending by 58.2% during the 4th quarter. Rivernorth Capital Management LLC now owns 1,900,728 shares of the company’s stock worth $23,740,000 after buying an additional 699,586 shares during the period. North Ground Capital raised its holdings in shares of Carlyle Secured Lending by 91.6% during the 4th quarter. North Ground Capital now owns 912,220 shares of the company’s stock worth $11,394,000 after acquiring an additional 436,086 shares during the period. Invesco Ltd. boosted its holdings in Carlyle Secured Lending by 15.6% in the 3rd quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 901,237 shares of the company’s stock valued at $11,265,000 after purchasing an additional 121,651 shares during the last quarter. Two Sigma Investments LP lifted its holdings in Carlyle Secured Lending by 199.4% in the third quarter. Two Sigma Investments LP now owns 727,570 shares of the company’s stock valued at $9,095,000 after acquiring an additional 484,581 shares during the last quarter. Finally, UBS Group AG grew its holdings in shares of Carlyle Secured Lending by 12.0% during the 3rd quarter. UBS Group AG now owns 635,484 shares of the company’s stock worth $7,944,000 after purchasing an additional 67,938 shares during the period. 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.