Nuveen Churchill Direct Lending Corp. (NYSE:NCDL) Given Average Recommendation of "Hold" by Analysts

Key Points

• Six analysts give NCDL a consensus "Hold" rating (four holds, two buys) with an average 12‑month target of $15.40, and several firms recently trimmed price targets (e.g., Wells Fargo to $13, Truist to $16).
• Company insiders have been net buyers—Jason Strife purchased 7,690 shares and director Kenneth M. Miranda bought 3,000 shares—total insider purchases of 47,547 shares in the past 90 days, raising insider ownership to 0.62%.
• Management cut the quarterly dividend to $0.36 (annualized $1.44, yield 11.0%) with a payout ratio of 137.4%, and the latest quarter showed an EPS beat ($0.44 vs. $0.43) but revenue well below expectations ($26.36M vs. $49.60M).

Nuveen Churchill Direct Lending Corp. (NYSE:NCDL - Get Free Report) has earned a consensus rating of "Hold" from the six analysts that are presently covering the firm, MarketBeat reports. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company. The average 1 year target price among analysts that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $15.40.

NCDL has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their target price on Nuveen Churchill Direct Lending from $14.00 to $13.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, March 4th. Zacks Research raised Nuveen Churchill Direct Lending from a "strong sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Friday, January 9th. Truist Financial lowered their price objective on Nuveen Churchill Direct Lending from $18.00 to $16.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, March 4th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods dropped 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. Finally, Wall Street Zen raised shares of Nuveen Churchill Direct Lending from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 10th.

Insider Activity

In other Nuveen Churchill Direct Lending news, insider Jason Strife bought 7,690 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 4th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $13.40 per share, for a total transaction of $103,046.00. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 15,737 shares in the company, valued at approximately $210,875.80. This trade represents a 95.56% increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director Kenneth M. Miranda purchased 3,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 3rd. The stock was acquired at an average price of $12.83 per share, with a total value of $38,490.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 30,000 shares of the company's stock, valued at $384,900. This represents a 11.11% increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase is available in the SEC filing. Over the last 90 days, insiders have acquired 47,547 shares of company stock worth $635,105. Insiders own 0.62% of the company's stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Nuveen Churchill Direct Lending

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. BNP Paribas Financial Markets grew its holdings in shares of Nuveen Churchill Direct Lending by 190.2% during the 3rd quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 2,400 shares of the company's stock worth $33,000 after purchasing an additional 1,573 shares in the last quarter. Advisory Services Network LLC acquired a new position in Nuveen Churchill Direct Lending during the third quarter valued at approximately $38,000. NewEdge Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of Nuveen Churchill Direct Lending by 33.0% during the 2nd quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 4,511 shares of the company's stock worth $73,000 after buying an additional 1,118 shares in the last quarter. Quadrant Capital Group LLC bought a new position in shares of Nuveen Churchill Direct Lending in the third quarter worth about $80,000. Finally, Global Retirement Partners LLC bought a new position in Nuveen Churchill Direct Lending in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $85,000.

Nuveen Churchill Direct Lending Stock Performance

Shares of NCDL stock opened at $13.09 on Tuesday. Nuveen Churchill Direct Lending has a 52 week low of $12.54 and a 52 week high of $17.59. The company has a market capitalization of $646.32 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.99 and a beta of 0.44. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $13.51 and a 200 day simple moving average of $14.10. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.27, a quick ratio of 1.85 and a current ratio of 1.85.

Nuveen Churchill Direct Lending (NYSE:NCDL - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 26th. The company reported $0.44 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.43 by $0.01. Nuveen Churchill Direct Lending had a net margin of 31.57% and a return on equity of 10.48%. The firm had revenue of $26.36 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $49.60 million. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Nuveen Churchill Direct Lending will post 2.28 earnings per share for the current year.

Nuveen Churchill Direct Lending Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 28th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, March 31st will be paid a $0.36 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, March 31st. This represents a $1.44 annualized dividend and a yield of 11.0%. Nuveen Churchill Direct Lending's payout ratio is 137.40%.

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.

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