Wall Street Zen Downgrades Nuveen Churchill Direct Lending (NYSE:NCDL) to Sell

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

Several other brokerages have also recently weighed in on NCDL. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reduced their price objective 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. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their target price on Nuveen Churchill Direct Lending from $15.00 to $14.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, November 5th. Finally, UBS Group decreased their price target on Nuveen Churchill Direct Lending from $17.00 to $15.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, October 14th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $15.75.

Nuveen Churchill Direct Lending Price Performance

NCDL stock opened at $14.26 on Friday. Nuveen Churchill Direct Lending has a 52 week low of $13.16 and a 52 week high of $18.01. The company has a quick ratio of 1.65, a current ratio of 1.65 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.25. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $14.53 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $15.61. The firm has a market capitalization of $704.10 million, a P/E ratio of 9.32 and a beta of 0.37.

Nuveen Churchill Direct Lending (NYSE:NCDL) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, November 4th. The company reported $0.43 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.46 by ($0.03). The business had revenue of $51.11 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $52.00 million. Nuveen Churchill Direct Lending had a return on equity of 11.13% and a net margin of 36.83%. Analysts anticipate that Nuveen Churchill Direct Lending will post 2.28 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Treasurer Shaul Vichness purchased 5,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, September 16th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $14.85 per share, for a total transaction 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 trade represents a 50.00% increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CEO Kenneth J. Kencel purchased 20,000 shares of Nuveen Churchill Direct Lending stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, November 6th. The stock was bought 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 $684,223.74. This trade represents a 71.13% increase in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this purchase provides additional information. 0.62% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Nuveen Churchill Direct Lending

Institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Nuveen LLC bought a new stake in Nuveen Churchill Direct Lending during the 1st quarter valued at $8,292,000. Opal Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of Nuveen Churchill Direct Lending by 46.3% during the 2nd quarter. Opal Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 498,655 shares of the company’s stock worth $8,073,000 after purchasing an additional 157,763 shares during the last quarter. Callodine Capital Management LP boosted its position in Nuveen Churchill Direct Lending by 42.7% during the first quarter. Callodine Capital Management LP now owns 500,000 shares of the company’s stock valued at $8,490,000 after purchasing an additional 149,611 shares in the last quarter. Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc. grew its stake in Nuveen Churchill Direct Lending by 13.7% in the third quarter. Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc. now owns 418,571 shares of the company’s stock valued at $5,776,000 after purchasing an additional 50,507 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Magnetar Financial LLC bought a new position in Nuveen Churchill Direct Lending in the second quarter worth about $773,000.

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.