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

Nuveen Churchill Direct Lending Corp. (NYSE:NCDL) shares hit a new 52-week low during mid-day trading on Monday . The stock traded as low as $11.94 and last traded at $12.0130, with a volume of 17484 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $12.28.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

NCDL has been the topic of several analyst reports. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Nuveen Churchill Direct Lending from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, July 25th. Wells Fargo & Company lowered Nuveen Churchill Direct Lending from an “equal weight” rating to an “underweight” rating and lowered their price objective for the company from $13.00 to $12.00 in a report on Friday, June 12th. Zacks Research upgraded Nuveen Churchill Direct Lending from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 21st. UBS Group raised Nuveen Churchill Direct Lending from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and reduced their price target for the company from $14.75 to $13.00 in a report on Tuesday, September 1st. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods decreased their price target on Nuveen Churchill Direct Lending from $15.00 to $13.50 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, August 10th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, two have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $13.62.

Nuveen Churchill Direct Lending Price Performance

The company has a market capitalization of $593.72 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.66 and a beta of 0.52. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $12.43 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $12.92.

Nuveen Churchill Direct Lending (NYSE:NCDL) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 6th. The company reported $0.41 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.39 by $0.02. The company had revenue of $11.14 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $46.72 million. Nuveen Churchill Direct Lending had a net margin of 24.44% and a return on equity of 9.60%. On average, analysts expect that Nuveen Churchill Direct Lending Corp. will post 1.6 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Nuveen Churchill Direct Lending Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, October 27th. Investors of record on Wednesday, September 30th will be issued a dividend of $0.36 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, September 30th. This represents a $1.44 annualized dividend and a yield of 12.0%. Nuveen Churchill Direct Lending’s payout ratio is currently 151.58%.

Institutional Trading of Nuveen Churchill Direct Lending

Large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Closed End Fund Advisors Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Nuveen Churchill Direct Lending during the 4th quarter worth $7,374,000. Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc. grew its stake in Nuveen Churchill Direct Lending by 2.9% in the 2nd quarter. Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc. now owns 442,680 shares of the company’s stock valued at $5,498,000 after acquiring an additional 12,646 shares during the last quarter. Centurion Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in Nuveen Churchill Direct Lending during the 2nd quarter valued at about $3,879,000. Bulldog Investors LLP raised its position in Nuveen Churchill Direct Lending by 29.6% during the first quarter. Bulldog Investors LLP now owns 224,822 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,860,000 after acquiring an additional 51,410 shares during the last quarter. Finally, BI Asset Management Fondsmaeglerselskab A S raised its position in Nuveen Churchill Direct Lending by 3.4% during the first quarter. BI Asset Management Fondsmaeglerselskab A S now owns 155,522 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,978,000 after acquiring an additional 5,046 shares during the last quarter.

About Nuveen Churchill Direct Lending

Nuveen Churchill Direct Lending Corp. is a business development company (BDC) that provides financing to privately owned, middle-market companies. The company seeks to generate income primarily through investments in senior secured loans and other debt securities, while also pursuing capital appreciation through selected equity and equity-related investments.

Its portfolio generally consists of direct investments in companies operating across a range of industries, with an emphasis on established businesses that may require financing for acquisitions, recapitalizations, refinancings, growth initiatives, or other corporate purposes.