Insider Buying: Nuveen Churchill Direct Lending (NYSE:NCDL) VP Buys 7,500 Shares of Stock

Nuveen Churchill Direct Lending Corp. (NYSE:NCDL) VP John Mccally acquired 7,500 shares of Nuveen Churchill Direct Lending stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 15th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $13.27 per share, for a total transaction of $99,525.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the vice president directly owned 15,245 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $202,301.15. This represents a 96.84% increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link.

Nuveen Churchill Direct Lending Stock Up 0.5%

Shares of NCDL stock traded up $0.06 on Wednesday, reaching $12.28. The company had a trading volume of 649,497 shares, compared to its average volume of 245,878. The business’s 50-day moving average is $13.33 and its 200 day moving average is $13.50. Nuveen Churchill Direct Lending Corp. has a one year low of $11.97 and a one year high of $17.27. The stock has a market capitalization of $606.26 million, a PE ratio of 10.23 and a beta of 0.50.

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

Nuveen Churchill Direct Lending Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, July 28th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, June 30th will be paid a dividend of $0.36 per share. This represents a $1.44 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 11.7%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, June 30th. Nuveen Churchill Direct Lending’s payout ratio is presently 120.00%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Invesco Ltd. lifted its holdings in Nuveen Churchill Direct Lending by 2,179.1% during the 4th quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 742,296 shares of the company’s stock worth $9,902,000 after buying an additional 709,727 shares during the period. Closed End Fund Advisors Inc. bought a new stake in Nuveen Churchill Direct Lending in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $7,374,000. Ares Management LLC increased its position in Nuveen Churchill Direct Lending by 188.3% during the 4th quarter. Ares Management LLC now owns 360,830 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,813,000 after purchasing an additional 235,674 shares during the period. Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. raised its holdings in Nuveen Churchill Direct Lending by 213.1% during the 4th quarter. Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. now owns 339,978 shares of the company’s stock worth $4,535,000 after purchasing an additional 231,400 shares during the last quarter. Finally, UBS Group AG boosted its stake in shares of Nuveen Churchill Direct Lending by 40.0% in the 4th quarter. UBS Group AG now owns 689,050 shares of the company’s stock valued at $9,192,000 after purchasing an additional 196,956 shares during the last quarter.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have recently commented on NCDL shares. Wall Street Zen cut Nuveen Churchill Direct Lending from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Saturday, June 6th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lowered their target price on Nuveen Churchill Direct Lending from $16.00 to $15.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a report on Friday, February 27th. Truist Financial cut their price target 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, March 4th. Zacks Research cut Nuveen Churchill Direct Lending from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a report on Tuesday, May 26th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company downgraded Nuveen Churchill Direct Lending from an “equal weight” rating to an “underweight” rating and lowered their price objective for the company from $13.00 to $12.00 in a research note on Friday, June 12th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, two have assigned a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Reduce” and an average price target of $14.44.

Nuveen Churchill Direct Lending Company Profile

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.