Key Points
- CEO Kenneth Kencel bought 10,000 shares at an average price of $13.04 on March 3, spending $130,400 and increasing his stake to 58,117 shares (a 20.78% rise).
- The company declared a quarterly dividend of $0.36 ($1.44 annualized) for an 11.0% yield, but the dividend payout ratio of 137.4% suggests the payout may be unsustainable.
- Shares traded down to $13.09 (down 1.6%); analysts have lowered price targets and the consensus rating is "Hold" with an average target of $15.40, while institutions like Invesco made large purchases (adding 709,727 shares).
Nuveen Churchill Direct Lending Corp. (NYSE:NCDL - Get Free Report) Director Kenneth Miranda acquired 3,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 3rd. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $12.83 per share, with a total value of $38,490.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director directly owned 30,000 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $384,900. This represents a 11.11% increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website.
Nuveen Churchill Direct Lending Trading Down 1.1%
NCDL traded down $0.14 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $13.16. 103,314 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 275,801. The firm's fifty day moving average is $13.56 and its two-hundred day moving average is $14.26. Nuveen Churchill Direct Lending Corp. has a 1-year low of $12.54 and a 1-year high of $17.59. The company has a market cap of $649.97 million, a PE ratio of 10.05 and a beta of 0.44. The company has a current ratio of 1.85, a quick ratio of 1.85 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.27.
Nuveen Churchill Direct Lending (NYSE:NCDL - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 26th. The company reported $0.44 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.43 by $0.01. The business had revenue of $26.36 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $49.60 million. Nuveen Churchill Direct Lending had a net margin of 31.57% and a return on equity of 10.48%. Equities analysts forecast that Nuveen Churchill Direct Lending Corp. will post 2.28 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.
Nuveen Churchill Direct Lending Cuts Dividend
The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 28th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, March 31st will be given a $0.36 dividend. This represents a $1.44 annualized dividend and a yield of 10.9%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, March 31st. Nuveen Churchill Direct Lending's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 137.40%.
Institutional Investors Weigh In On Nuveen Churchill Direct Lending
Several institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Virtu Financial LLC boosted its holdings in Nuveen Churchill Direct Lending by 181.2% in the fourth quarter. Virtu Financial LLC now owns 41,725 shares of the company's stock valued at $557,000 after purchasing an additional 26,885 shares in the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. boosted its holdings in shares of Nuveen Churchill Direct Lending by 2,179.1% in the 4th quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 742,296 shares of the company's stock valued at $9,902,000 after buying an additional 709,727 shares in the last quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Nuveen Churchill Direct Lending by 31.2% in the 4th quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 6,073 shares of the company's stock valued at $81,000 after buying an additional 1,443 shares in the last quarter. VARCOV Co. purchased a new position in shares of Nuveen Churchill Direct Lending in the 4th quarter valued at $371,000. Finally, Almitas Capital LLC acquired a new stake in Nuveen Churchill Direct Lending during the 4th quarter worth $936,000.
Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades
Several analysts have recently issued reports on NCDL shares. Truist Financial reduced their price objective on Nuveen Churchill Direct Lending from $18.00 to $16.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reduced their price target on Nuveen Churchill Direct Lending from $16.00 to $15.00 and set a "market perform" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, February 27th. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price objective on Nuveen Churchill Direct Lending from $14.00 to $13.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday. Zacks Research raised shares of Nuveen Churchill Direct Lending from a "strong sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Friday, January 9th. Finally, Wall Street Zen cut shares of Nuveen Churchill Direct Lending from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a report on Monday. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have issued a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Nuveen Churchill Direct Lending presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $15.40.
View Our Latest Research Report on NCDL
Nuveen Churchill Direct Lending Company Profile
(
Get Free Report)
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.
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