Carlyle Secured Lending, Inc. (NASDAQ:CGBD) Sees Large Growth in Short Interest

Key Points

• Carlyle Secured Lending, Inc. (NASDAQ:CGBD) experienced a significant **51.5% increase** in short interest in September, reaching **773,400 shares** as of September 30th.
• Recent insider trading activity includes Director John G. Nestor selling **13,238 shares**, representing a **47.57% decrease** in ownership, while CFO Thomas M. Hennigan acquired **7,285 shares**, increasing his ownership by **8.97%**.
• Multiple analyst upgrades have occurred, with JPMorgan Chase and Wells Fargo upgrading their ratings and adjusting price targets, indicating a shift in **market sentiment** towards the stock.

Carlyle Secured Lending, Inc. (NASDAQ:CGBD - Get Free Report) was the target of a significant increase in short interest in September. As of September 30th, there was short interest totaling 773,400 shares, an increase of 51.5% from the September 15th total of 510,400 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 501,600 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 1.5 days. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 501,600 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 1.5 days.

Insider Activity

In other Carlyle Secured Lending news, Director John G. Nestor sold 13,238 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $13.49, for a total value of $178,580.62. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 14,593 shares of the company's stock, valued at $196,859.57. This trade represents a 47.57% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CFO Thomas M. Hennigan acquired 7,285 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 20th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $13.75 per share, for a total transaction of $100,168.75. Following the acquisition, the chief financial officer directly owned 88,495 shares in the company, valued at $1,216,806.25. This represents a 8.97% increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Company insiders own 0.61% of the company's stock.

Institutional Trading of Carlyle Secured Lending

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Quarry LP bought a new position in shares of Carlyle Secured Lending in the first quarter valued at approximately $32,000. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. boosted its stake in 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 valued at $36,000 after purchasing an additional 1,100 shares in the last quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC raised its stake in shares of Carlyle Secured Lending by 1,011.6% in the 2nd quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC now owns 4,313 shares of the company's stock worth $59,000 after buying an additional 3,925 shares in the last quarter. Security National Bank bought a new position in Carlyle Secured Lending during the third quarter valued at about $64,000. Finally, Catalyst Capital Advisors LLC bought a new position in Carlyle Secured Lending during the second quarter valued at about $97,000. 24.51% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have issued reports on the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded Carlyle Secured Lending from an "underweight" rating to a "neutral" rating and dropped their price objective for the stock from $13.50 to $12.50 in a report on Wednesday, October 1st. Raymond James Financial upgraded shares of Carlyle Secured Lending from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and set a $15.00 price target for the company in a research note on Tuesday, October 7th. B. Riley reaffirmed a "neutral" rating and issued a $14.50 price target (up from $14.00) on shares of Carlyle Secured Lending in a report on Monday, August 11th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company upgraded shares of Carlyle Secured Lending from an "equal weight" rating to an "overweight" rating and increased their price objective for the company from $13.00 to $15.00 in a research note on Friday, July 25th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, three have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $14.83.

Carlyle Secured Lending Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ CGBD traded down $0.17 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, hitting $12.39. The company had a trading volume of 840,813 shares, compared to its average volume of 680,576. Carlyle Secured Lending has a 12 month low of $11.65 and a 12 month high of $18.64. The stock has a market cap of $631.39 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.33 and a beta of 0.89. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.09, a current ratio of 0.73 and a quick ratio of 0.73. The firm's 50 day simple moving average is $13.16 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $13.74.

Carlyle Secured Lending (NASDAQ:CGBD - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, August 5th. The company reported $0.39 EPS for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $0.39. The business had revenue of $67.28 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $67.53 million. Carlyle Secured Lending had a net margin of 29.71% and a return on equity of 9.85%. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Carlyle Secured Lending will post 1.97 earnings per share for the current year.

Carlyle Secured Lending Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, October 17th. Investors of record on Tuesday, September 30th were paid a dividend of $0.40 per share. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 12.9%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, September 30th. Carlyle Secured Lending's payout ratio is currently 133.33%.

Carlyle Secured Lending Company Profile

Carlyle Secured Lending, Inc is business development company specializing in first lien debt, senior secured loans, second lien senior secured loan unsecured debt, mezzanine debt and investments in equities. It specializes in directly investing. It specializes in middle market. It targets healthcare and pharmaceutical, aerospace and defense, high tech industries, business services, software, beverage food and tobacco, hotel gamming and leisure, banking finance insurance and in real estate sector.

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