Analysts Set Nuveen Churchill Direct Lending Corp. (NYSE:NCDL) Target Price at $15.35

Shares of Nuveen Churchill Direct Lending Corp. (NYSE:NCDL) have been assigned a consensus recommendation of “Hold” from the six ratings firms that are presently covering the firm, Marketbeat.com reports. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company. The average twelve-month target price among brokerages that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $15.35.

Several research firms recently issued reports on NCDL. UBS Group dropped their price objective on Nuveen Churchill Direct Lending from $15.50 to $14.75 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, May 18th. Truist Financial dropped their price objective on Nuveen Churchill Direct Lending from $18.00 to $16.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, March 4th. Wall Street Zen raised Nuveen Churchill Direct Lending from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Sunday, May 17th. Wells Fargo & Company dropped 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 note on Wednesday, March 4th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods dropped their price objective on Nuveen Churchill Direct Lending from $16.00 to $15.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, February 27th.

Insider Activity at Nuveen Churchill Direct Lending

In other Nuveen Churchill Direct Lending news, Treasurer Shaul Vichness acquired 5,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 14th. The stock was bought at an average price of $13.20 per share, with a total value of $66,000.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the treasurer owned 30,705 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $405,306. This represents a 19.45% increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, Director James Joseph Ritchie acquired 17,857 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 10th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $13.71 per share, with a total value of $244,819.47. Following the purchase, the director directly owned 78,193 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,072,026.03. This trade represents a 29.60% increase in their position. The SEC filing for this purchase provides additional information. Over the last quarter, insiders acquired 31,639 shares of company stock valued at $426,430. Company insiders own 0.68% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Nuveen Churchill Direct Lending

A number of large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in NCDL. Quantbot Technologies LP purchased a new stake in Nuveen Churchill Direct Lending during the second quarter valued at about $152,000. Cresset Asset Management LLC raised its position in Nuveen Churchill Direct Lending by 17.6% during the second quarter. Cresset Asset Management LLC now owns 36,025 shares of the company’s stock valued at $599,000 after purchasing an additional 5,391 shares in the last quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC raised its position in Nuveen Churchill Direct Lending by 33.0% during the second quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 4,511 shares of the company’s stock valued at $73,000 after purchasing an additional 1,118 shares in the last quarter. Sei Investments Co. raised its position in Nuveen Churchill Direct Lending by 11.4% during the second quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 18,678 shares of the company’s stock valued at $302,000 after purchasing an additional 1,918 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Bank of America Corp DE raised its position in Nuveen Churchill Direct Lending by 41.2% during the second quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 86,036 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,393,000 after purchasing an additional 25,106 shares in the last quarter.

Nuveen Churchill Direct Lending Price Performance

Nuveen Churchill Direct Lending stock opened at $13.01 on Friday. Nuveen Churchill Direct Lending has a one year low of $12.43 and a one year high of $17.27. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $13.49 and a 200-day moving average price of $13.68. The firm has a market capitalization of $642.52 million, a P/E ratio of 10.84 and a beta of 0.50.

Nuveen Churchill Direct Lending (NYSE:NCDL) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 7th. The company reported $0.41 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.42 by ($0.01). The company had revenue of $17.15 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $47.79 million. Nuveen Churchill Direct Lending had a return on equity of 9.80% and a net margin of 29.56%. Sell-side analysts expect that Nuveen Churchill Direct Lending will post 1.6 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Nuveen Churchill Direct Lending Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, July 28th. Investors of record on Tuesday, June 30th will be paid a dividend of $0.36 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, June 30th. This represents a $1.44 annualized dividend and a yield of 11.1%. Nuveen Churchill Direct Lending’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 120.00%.

About Nuveen Churchill Direct Lending

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.