Nuveen Churchill Direct Lending (NYSE:NCDL) Raised to Hold at Wall Street Zen

Nuveen Churchill Direct Lending (NYSE:NCDL) was upgraded by research analysts at Wall Street Zen from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note issued on Saturday.

NCDL has been the subject of several other reports. UBS Group lowered their price objective on shares of Nuveen Churchill Direct Lending from $17.00 to $15.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, October 14th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods decreased their price target on Nuveen Churchill Direct Lending from $17.00 to $16.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, November 5th. Zacks Research cut Nuveen Churchill Direct Lending from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a report on Monday, November 10th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price objective on Nuveen Churchill Direct Lending from $15.00 to $14.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, November 5th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, three have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Nuveen Churchill Direct Lending currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $15.75.

Nuveen Churchill Direct Lending Stock Down 2.1%

Shares of NYSE NCDL opened at $14.03 on Friday. Nuveen Churchill Direct Lending has a 52 week low of $13.16 and a 52 week high of $18.01. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $14.37 and its 200 day moving average is $15.34. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.25, a quick ratio of 1.65 and a current ratio of 1.65. The stock has a market capitalization of $692.94 million, a P/E ratio of 9.17 and a beta of 0.35.

Nuveen Churchill Direct Lending (NYSE:NCDL) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, November 4th. The company reported $0.43 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.46 by ($0.03). The firm had revenue of $51.11 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $52.00 million. Nuveen Churchill Direct Lending had a return on equity of 11.13% and a net margin of 36.83%. Sell-side analysts forecast that Nuveen Churchill Direct Lending will post 2.28 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director Kenneth M. Miranda bought 2,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, November 19th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $14.10 per share, with a total value of $28,200.00. Following the acquisition, the director directly owned 27,000 shares in the company, valued at approximately $380,700. This trade represents a 8.00% increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Treasurer Shaul Vichness bought 5,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, November 17th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $14.20 per share, with a total value of $71,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the treasurer directly owned 20,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $284,000. The trade was a 33.33% increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase is available in the SEC filing. Insiders have bought 27,000 shares of company stock worth $383,600 in the last 90 days. Insiders own 0.62% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Nuveen Churchill Direct Lending

A number of institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in NCDL. BNP Paribas Financial Markets increased its stake in shares of Nuveen Churchill Direct Lending by 190.2% in the third quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 2,400 shares of the company’s stock valued at $33,000 after buying an additional 1,573 shares during the period. Advisory Services Network LLC bought a new stake in Nuveen Churchill Direct Lending in the third quarter valued at approximately $38,000. NewEdge Advisors LLC boosted its holdings 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 Nuveen Churchill Direct Lending during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $80,000. Finally, Global Retirement Partners LLC bought a new position in Nuveen Churchill Direct Lending during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $85,000.

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.