Short Interest in Nuveen Churchill Direct Lending Corp. (NYSE:NCDL) Increases By 76.1%

Nuveen Churchill Direct Lending Corp. (NYSE:NCDL) was the recipient of a large growth in short interest during the month of June. As of June 30th, there was short interest totaling 1,022,863 shares, a growth of 76.1% from the June 15th total of 580,918 shares. Approximately 2.1% of the company’s shares are sold short. Based on an average trading volume of 290,143 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 3.5 days.

Insider Transactions at Nuveen Churchill Direct Lending

In other news, Treasurer Shaul Vichness acquired 5,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 14th. The stock was acquired 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 directly owned 30,705 shares in the company, valued at approximately $405,306. This trade represents a 19.45% increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CAO Marissa Hassen acquired 3,782 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 12th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $13.21 per share, with a total value of $49,960.22. Following the purchase, the chief accounting officer owned 9,780 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $129,193.80. The trade was a 63.05% increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase is available in the SEC filing. In the last quarter, insiders bought 16,282 shares of company stock worth $215,485. 0.68% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of Nuveen Churchill Direct Lending

Hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Invesco Ltd. lifted its stake in Nuveen Churchill Direct Lending by 2,179.1% in the fourth quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 742,296 shares of the company’s stock worth $9,902,000 after acquiring an additional 709,727 shares during the period. Closed End Fund Advisors Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Nuveen Churchill Direct Lending in the 4th quarter valued at about $7,374,000. Centurion Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Nuveen Churchill Direct Lending in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $3,879,000. Ares Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Nuveen Churchill Direct Lending by 188.3% in the 4th quarter. Ares Management LLC now owns 360,830 shares of the company’s stock worth $4,813,000 after purchasing an additional 235,674 shares during the period. Finally, Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. boosted its stake in shares of Nuveen Churchill Direct Lending by 213.1% during the fourth quarter. Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. now owns 339,978 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,535,000 after purchasing an additional 231,400 shares in the last quarter.

Nuveen Churchill Direct Lending Stock Performance

Nuveen Churchill Direct Lending stock opened at $12.99 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $641.82 million, a PE ratio of 10.83 and a beta of 0.51. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $12.79 and a 200-day moving average price of $13.30. Nuveen Churchill Direct Lending has a fifty-two week low of $11.97 and a fifty-two week high of $17.27.

Nuveen Churchill Direct Lending (NYSE:NCDL) last announced its quarterly earnings data 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 firm 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%. On average, analysts forecast that Nuveen Churchill Direct Lending will post 1.6 earnings per share for the current year.

Nuveen Churchill Direct Lending Announces Dividend

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Zacks Research downgraded Nuveen Churchill Direct Lending from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a report on Tuesday, May 26th. UBS Group cut their price objective on Nuveen Churchill Direct Lending from $15.50 to $14.75 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, May 18th. Wall Street Zen downgraded Nuveen Churchill Direct Lending from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Saturday, June 6th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company cut shares of Nuveen Churchill Direct Lending from an “equal weight” rating to an “underweight” rating and cut their price target for the stock from $13.00 to $12.00 in a report on Friday, June 12th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, two have issued a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently 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.