Zacks Research Downgrades Nuveen Churchill Direct Lending (NYSE:NCDL) to Strong Sell

Nuveen Churchill Direct Lending (NYSE:NCDL) was downgraded by investment analysts at Zacks Research from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a report released on Monday,Zacks.com reports.

A number of other research analysts have also commented on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price objective on shares of 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. Wall Street Zen downgraded Nuveen Churchill Direct Lending from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Saturday. UBS Group decreased their price objective on 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. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods dropped their target price on Nuveen Churchill Direct Lending from $17.00 to $16.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, November 5th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, three have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Nuveen Churchill Direct Lending currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $15.75.

Nuveen Churchill Direct Lending Stock Up 0.6%

NYSE:NCDL traded up $0.09 during midday trading on Monday, hitting $14.48. 24,633 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 240,219. The company has a current ratio of 1.65, a quick ratio of 1.65 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.25. Nuveen Churchill Direct Lending has a fifty-two week low of $13.16 and a fifty-two week high of $18.01. The company has a market capitalization of $714.88 million, a PE ratio of 9.46 and a beta of 0.38. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $14.47 and a 200 day simple moving average of $15.58.

Nuveen Churchill Direct Lending (NYSE:NCDL) last released its quarterly earnings results 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). Nuveen Churchill Direct Lending had a return on equity of 11.13% and a net margin of 36.83%.The firm had revenue of $51.11 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $52.00 million. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Nuveen Churchill Direct Lending will post 2.28 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Nuveen Churchill Direct Lending

In related news, Treasurer Shaul Vichness acquired 5,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, September 16th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $14.85 per share, with a total value of $74,250.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the treasurer owned 15,000 shares in the company, valued at approximately $222,750. This represents a 50.00% increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Kenneth J. Kencel purchased 20,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, November 6th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $14.22 per share, for a total transaction of $284,400.00. Following the purchase, the chief executive officer directly owned 48,117 shares in the company, valued at approximately $684,223.74. This represents a 71.13% increase in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this purchase are available in the official SEC disclosure. 0.62% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. BI Asset Management Fondsmaeglerselskab A S boosted its position in shares of Nuveen Churchill Direct Lending by 2.7% in the 3rd quarter. BI Asset Management Fondsmaeglerselskab A S now owns 27,149 shares of the company’s stock worth $375,000 after buying an additional 723 shares in the last quarter. Aprio Wealth Management LLC raised its position in Nuveen Churchill Direct Lending by 0.7% during the third quarter. Aprio Wealth Management LLC now owns 114,174 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,576,000 after acquiring an additional 742 shares during the last quarter. Modera Wealth Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Nuveen Churchill Direct Lending by 4.3% in the third quarter. Modera Wealth Management LLC now owns 18,283 shares of the company’s stock valued at $252,000 after purchasing an additional 760 shares in the last quarter. Entropy Technologies LP lifted its holdings in shares of Nuveen Churchill Direct Lending by 6.8% in the first quarter. Entropy Technologies LP now owns 12,025 shares of the company’s stock valued at $204,000 after purchasing an additional 761 shares in the last quarter. Finally, State of Wyoming grew its position in shares of Nuveen Churchill Direct Lending by 16.4% in the third quarter. State of Wyoming now owns 7,739 shares of the company’s stock valued at $107,000 after purchasing an additional 1,090 shares during the last quarter.

About Nuveen Churchill Direct Lending

Nuveen Churchill Direct Lending Corp. is a specialty finance company focused primarily on investing in senior secured loans to private equity-owned U.S. middle market companies. It has elected to be regulated as a business development company. Nuveen Churchill Direct Lending Corp. is based in NEW YORK.