Carlyle Secured Lending, Inc. (NASDAQ:CGBD) Short Interest Update

Carlyle Secured Lending, Inc. (NASDAQ:CGBD) was the recipient of a significant increase in short interest in December. As of December 31st, there was short interest totaling 1,122,996 shares, an increase of 83.9% from the December 15th total of 610,807 shares. Approximately 2.2% of the shares of the stock are short sold. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 572,707 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 2.0 days. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 572,707 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 2.0 days. Approximately 2.2% of the shares of the stock are short sold.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director John G. Nestor sold 7,085 shares of Carlyle Secured Lending stock in a transaction on Friday, November 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $11.87, for a total value of $84,098.95. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 7,508 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $89,119.96. This trade represents a 48.55% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 0.61% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of CGBD. Prime Capital Investment Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Carlyle Secured Lending during the 2nd quarter valued at $30,158,000. Choreo LLC bought a new position in Carlyle Secured Lending in the second quarter valued at about $20,529,000. Cliffwater LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Carlyle Secured Lending during the second quarter valued at about $7,505,000. Two Sigma Investments LP grew its holdings in shares of Carlyle Secured Lending by 199.4% during the third quarter. Two Sigma Investments LP now owns 727,570 shares of the company’s stock worth $9,095,000 after purchasing an additional 484,581 shares during the last quarter. Finally, North Ground Capital acquired a new position in shares of Carlyle Secured Lending in the third quarter valued at approximately $5,952,000. 24.51% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

CGBD has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Carlyle Secured Lending from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, January 3rd. Raymond James Financial raised shares of Carlyle Secured Lending from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $15.00 price objective for the company in a research report on Tuesday, October 7th. Citizens Jmp started coverage on Carlyle Secured Lending in a report on Monday, December 8th. They set a “market perform” rating for the company. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their target price on Carlyle Secured Lending from $15.00 to $14.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, November 6th. Finally, B. Riley lowered their price objective on Carlyle Secured Lending from $14.50 to $13.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, November 11th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, six have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $14.33.

Carlyle Secured Lending Price Performance

Shares of CGBD stock traded down $0.09 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $12.85. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 218,095 shares, compared to its average volume of 411,014. Carlyle Secured Lending has a fifty-two week low of $11.55 and a fifty-two week high of $18.64. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $12.52 and its 200-day simple moving average is $13.06. The company has a quick ratio of 0.90, a current ratio of 0.90 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.10. The company has a market capitalization of $654.58 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.87 and a beta of 0.69.

Carlyle Secured Lending (NASDAQ:CGBD) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, November 4th. The company reported $0.38 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.39 by ($0.01). Carlyle Secured Lending had a return on equity of 9.24% and a net margin of 30.18%.The business had revenue of $66.51 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $69.61 million. Sell-side analysts forecast that Carlyle Secured Lending will post 1.97 earnings per share for the current year.

Carlyle Secured Lending Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, January 16th. Investors of record on Wednesday, December 31st will be given a dividend of $0.40 per share. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 12.5%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, December 31st. Carlyle Secured Lending’s dividend payout ratio is currently 135.59%.

Carlyle Secured Lending Company Profile

Carlyle Secured Lending, Inc (NASDAQ: CGBD) is a closed-end, non-diversified business development company that provides customized debt financing solutions to middle-market companies. Chartered under the Investment Company Act of 1940, the company invests primarily in floating-rate senior secured loans, including first-lien, unitranche and one-stop structures. Its objective is to generate current income and capital appreciation through disciplined credit selection and active portfolio management.

The firm focuses on U.S.