Carlyle Secured Lending, Inc. (NASDAQ:CGBD) Receives Average Rating of "Hold" from Analysts

Key Points

• Eight analysts have given Carlyle Secured Lending a consensus "Hold" rating (five holds, three buys) with an average 12‑month price target of $13.20; recent broker moves include Wells Fargo trimming its target to $13 and JPMorgan cutting its target to $10 while B. Riley upgraded to a buy.
• The company missed quarterly estimates with EPS of $0.33 vs. $0.38 expected and slightly lower revenue, and it paid a quarterly dividend of $0.40 (about a 13.5% yield) — though the dividend payout ratio is an elevated 156.86%, raising sustainability concerns.

Shares of Carlyle Secured Lending, Inc. (NASDAQ:CGBD - Get Free Report) have been given a consensus rating of "Hold" by the eight analysts that are presently covering the company, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and three have given a buy recommendation to the company. The average 1-year price objective among brokerages that have covered the stock in the last year is $13.20.

A number of research firms have recently issued reports on CGBD. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price objective on Carlyle Secured Lending from $14.00 to $13.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, February 27th. 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. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price objective on shares of Carlyle Secured Lending from $12.00 to $10.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, March 13th. Finally, B. Riley Financial upgraded shares of Carlyle Secured Lending from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $13.00 target price for the company in a research note on Wednesday, February 25th.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director John G. Nestor sold 4,401 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $11.29, for a total value of $49,687.29. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 5,516 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $62,275.64. The trade was a 44.38% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. 0.61% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Carlyle Secured Lending

Several hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of CGBD. Rossby Financial LCC bought a new stake in shares of Carlyle Secured Lending during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $25,000. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. boosted its position in shares of Carlyle Secured Lending by 71.9% during the 2nd quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 2,630 shares of the company's stock worth $36,000 after acquiring an additional 1,100 shares in the last quarter. State of Alaska Department of Revenue bought a new position in Carlyle Secured Lending in the third quarter valued at approximately $37,000. Kestra Advisory Services LLC acquired a new position in Carlyle Secured Lending during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $47,000. Finally, Tower Research Capital LLC TRC raised its position in Carlyle Secured Lending by 1,011.6% during the second quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC now owns 4,313 shares of the company's stock valued at $59,000 after purchasing an additional 3,925 shares in the last quarter. 24.51% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Carlyle Secured Lending Stock Up 2.2%

Shares of CGBD stock opened at $11.82 on Friday. Carlyle Secured Lending has a 52-week low of $10.61 and a 52-week high of $15.15. The stock has a market cap of $828.94 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.59 and a beta of 0.65. The firm's 50-day moving average is $11.29 and its 200-day moving average is $12.06. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.31, a quick ratio of 0.85 and a current ratio of 0.85.

Carlyle Secured Lending (NASDAQ:CGBD - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 24th. The company reported $0.33 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.38 by ($0.05). The business had revenue of $66.91 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $67.26 million. Carlyle Secured Lending had a return on equity of 8.56% and a net margin of 27.38%. Sell-side analysts predict that Carlyle Secured Lending will post 1.97 EPS for the current year.

Carlyle Secured Lending Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, April 16th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, March 31st were given a dividend of $0.40 per share. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, March 31st. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 13.5%. Carlyle Secured Lending's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 156.86%.

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.

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