Nuveen Churchill Direct Lending (NYSE:NCDL) Announces Quarterly Earnings Results

Nuveen Churchill Direct Lending (NYSE:NCDL) issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday. The company reported $0.41 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.39 by $0.02, Zacks reports. Nuveen Churchill Direct Lending had a net margin of 24.44% and a return on equity of 9.53%. The company had revenue of $11.14 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $46.72 million.

Here are the key takeaways from Nuveen Churchill Direct Lending’s conference call:

• Net investment income of $0.41 per share covered the $0.36 base dividend, and the board declared a third-quarter distribution of $0.38 per share, including a $0.02 supplemental payment.
• NAV declined 1.8% to $17.19 per share, driven by realized and unrealized losses tied primarily to amendments involving two underperforming investments. Four additional companies were placed on non-accrual, bringing non-accruals to 2.7% of investments at cost and 1.5% at fair value.
• NCDL’s gross originations fell sharply to $12.1 million from $82.9 million in the prior quarter as management managed leverage and private-equity deal activity slowed, although executives said transaction activity improved in June and July.
• NCDL launched a joint venture with an institutional investor, initially contributing a $150 million portfolio and targeting approximately $300 million of assets within 12 months. Management expects the vehicle’s leverage and senior-loan strategy to generate accretive returns and expand deployment capacity.
• The portfolio remained highly diversified across 244 companies, with 89.6% allocated to first-lien loans and only 2.4% exposure to software, while leverage was 1.29x gross and interest coverage was 2.5x.

Nuveen Churchill Direct Lending Stock Up 2.6%

Shares of NCDL stock traded up $0.33 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $12.86. 187,958 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 193,508. Nuveen Churchill Direct Lending has a 1-year low of $11.97 and a 1-year high of $16.37. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $12.60 and a 200 day moving average price of $13.18. The firm has a market capitalization of $635.16 million, a PE ratio of 13.54 and a beta of 0.51.

Nuveen Churchill Direct Lending Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, October 27th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, September 30th will be issued a dividend of $0.36 per share. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, September 30th. This represents a $1.44 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 11.2%. Nuveen Churchill Direct Lending’s payout ratio is currently 120.00%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Nuveen Churchill Direct Lending news, VP John Mccally bought 7,500 shares of Nuveen Churchill Direct Lending stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 15th. The stock was bought at an average price of $13.27 per share, for a total transaction of $99,525.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the vice president directly owned 15,245 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $202,301.15. This trade represents a 96.84% increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CAO Marissa Hassen purchased 3,782 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 12th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $13.21 per share, for a total transaction of $49,960.22. Following the acquisition, the chief accounting officer directly owned 9,780 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $129,193.80. This represents a 63.05% increase in their position. Additional details regarding this purchase are available in the official SEC disclosure. In the last 90 days, insiders bought 16,282 shares of company stock valued at $215,485. Company insiders own 0.68% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Nuveen Churchill Direct Lending

A number of institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. QTR Family Wealth LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Nuveen Churchill Direct Lending by 25.7% during the fourth quarter. QTR Family Wealth LLC now owns 25,568 shares of the company’s stock worth $361,000 after purchasing an additional 5,232 shares during the period. Sunbelt Securities Inc. increased its stake in Nuveen Churchill Direct Lending by 39.9% in the 3rd quarter. Sunbelt Securities Inc. now owns 10,500 shares of the company’s stock valued at $145,000 after buying an additional 2,995 shares during the period. Susquehanna International Group LLP purchased a new stake in Nuveen Churchill Direct Lending in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $152,000. Aquatic Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in Nuveen Churchill Direct Lending in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $131,000. Finally, Virtu Financial LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Nuveen Churchill Direct Lending during the 3rd quarter valued at $205,000.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

NCDL has been the topic of a number of research reports. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Nuveen Churchill Direct Lending from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, July 25th. Wells Fargo & Company cut shares of Nuveen Churchill Direct Lending from an “equal weight” rating to an “underweight” rating and reduced their target price for the stock from $13.00 to $12.00 in a report on Friday, June 12th. Zacks Research raised Nuveen Churchill Direct Lending from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 21st. Finally, UBS Group cut their price objective on Nuveen Churchill Direct Lending from $15.50 to $14.75 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, May 18th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, three have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $14.44.

About Nuveen Churchill Direct Lending

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.