Ieq Capital LLC Acquires New Position in Carlyle Secured Lending, Inc. $CGBD

Key Points

• Ieq Capital LLC has acquired a new stake in Carlyle Secured Lending, purchasing 36,151 shares valued at approximately $585,000 during the first quarter.
• Carlyle Secured Lending announced a quarterly dividend of $0.40 per share, representing an annualized yield of 11.6%, with a payout ratio of 133.33%.
• As of the most recent reporting, 24.51% of Carlyle Secured Lending's stock is held by institutional investors and hedge funds, reflecting increased interest from major financial entities in the company.

Ieq Capital LLC bought a new stake in shares of Carlyle Secured Lending, Inc. (NASDAQ:CGBD - Free Report) in the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor bought 36,151 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $585,000. Ieq Capital LLC owned about 0.07% of Carlyle Secured Lending at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Ethos Financial Group LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Carlyle Secured Lending in the first quarter worth $2,781,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. raised its position in shares of Carlyle Secured Lending by 2.4% during the 1st quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. now owns 184,149 shares of the company's stock valued at $2,980,000 after purchasing an additional 4,385 shares during the period. Virtu Financial LLC bought a new stake in shares of Carlyle Secured Lending during the 1st quarter valued at $307,000. Condor Capital Management raised its position in shares of Carlyle Secured Lending by 3.2% during the 1st quarter. Condor Capital Management now owns 275,409 shares of the company's stock valued at $4,456,000 after purchasing an additional 8,573 shares during the period. Finally, MGB Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Carlyle Secured Lending during the 1st quarter valued at $291,000. 24.51% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director John G. Nestor sold 13,238 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated 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 in the company, valued at approximately $196,859.57. This trade represents a 47.57% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CFO Thomas M. Hennigan bought 7,285 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 20th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $13.75 per share, with a total value of $100,168.75. Following the acquisition, the chief financial officer directly owned 88,495 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,216,806.25. The trade was a 8.97% increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 0.61% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts recently weighed in on CGBD shares. Raymond James Financial started coverage on shares of Carlyle Secured Lending in a research note on Thursday, July 17th. They set a "market perform" rating for the company. B. Riley reaffirmed a "neutral" rating and set a $14.50 target price (up from $14.00) on shares of Carlyle Secured Lending in a research note on Monday, August 11th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company raised shares of Carlyle Secured Lending from an "equal weight" rating to an "overweight" rating and raised their target price for the company from $13.00 to $15.00 in a research note on Friday, July 25th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, three have given a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Carlyle Secured Lending presently has an average rating of "Reduce" and a consensus price target of $15.10.

Carlyle Secured Lending Price Performance

CGBD stock traded down $0.13 during trading on Tuesday, hitting $13.72. 83,466 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 352,733. Carlyle Secured Lending, Inc. has a 52 week low of $13.12 and a 52 week high of $18.64. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.09, a quick ratio of 0.73 and a current ratio of 0.73. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $13.87 and a 200 day simple moving average of $14.61. The stock has a market capitalization of $698.92 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.43 and a beta of 0.88.

Carlyle Secured Lending (NASDAQ:CGBD - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, August 5th. The company reported $0.39 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $0.39. The firm 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, research analysts expect that Carlyle Secured Lending, Inc. will post 1.97 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Carlyle Secured Lending Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, October 17th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, September 30th will be issued a $0.40 dividend. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 11.7%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, September 30th. Carlyle Secured Lending's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 133.33%.

Carlyle Secured Lending 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.