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

Key Points

• Analysts give Nuveen Churchill Direct Lending a consensus "Hold" rating (four holds, two buys) with an average 1‑year price target of $15.40, and several firms recently cut targets (e.g., Truist to $16, Wells Fargo to $13, KBW to $15).
• Company insiders bought a total of 47,547 shares (~$635,105) over the past three months — including notable purchases by Jason Strife and Director James Ritchie — indicating meaningful insider buying.
• Management declared a $0.36 quarterly dividend (annualized $1.44) for a 10.7% yield

Shares of Nuveen Churchill Direct Lending Corp. (NYSE:NCDL - Get Free Report) have received a consensus recommendation of "Hold" from the six brokerages that are presently covering the stock, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company. The average 1-year price objective among brokers that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $15.40.

Several research firms have commented on NCDL. Truist Financial dropped their target price on shares of 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. 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. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their target price on shares of Nuveen Churchill Direct Lending from $14.00 to $13.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, March 4th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods dropped their target price on shares of Nuveen Churchill Direct Lending from $16.00 to $15.00 and set a "market perform" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, February 27th. Finally, Zacks Research raised shares of Nuveen Churchill Direct Lending from a "strong sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Friday, January 9th.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, insider Jason Strife purchased 7,690 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 4th. The shares were bought at an average price of $13.40 per share, with a total value of $103,046.00. Following the acquisition, the insider owned 15,737 shares of the company's stock, valued at $210,875.80. This trade represents a 95.56% increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director James Joseph Ritchie purchased 17,857 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 10th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $13.71 per share, for a total transaction of $244,819.47. Following the acquisition, the director directly owned 78,193 shares in the company, valued at $1,072,026.03. This trade represents a 29.60% increase in their position. Additional details regarding this purchase are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders have purchased a total of 47,547 shares of company stock worth $635,105 in the last three months. Insiders own 0.62% of the company's stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Nuveen Churchill Direct Lending

Hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Nuveen Churchill Direct Lending by 13.7% in the 3rd quarter. Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc. now owns 418,571 shares of the company's stock worth $5,776,000 after purchasing an additional 50,507 shares during the period. MQS Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Nuveen Churchill Direct Lending in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $604,000. Callodine Capital Management LP raised its holdings in shares of Nuveen Churchill Direct Lending by 9.1% in the 3rd quarter. Callodine Capital Management LP now owns 572,800 shares of the company's stock worth $7,905,000 after purchasing an additional 47,800 shares during the period. Aprio Wealth Management LLC raised its holdings in Nuveen Churchill Direct Lending by 0.7% during the 3rd quarter. Aprio Wealth Management LLC now owns 114,174 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,576,000 after acquiring an additional 742 shares during the period. Finally, AlphaQuest LLC bought a new stake in Nuveen Churchill Direct Lending during the 3rd quarter valued at $135,000.

Nuveen Churchill Direct Lending Price Performance

Nuveen Churchill Direct Lending stock opened at $13.45 on Friday. Nuveen Churchill Direct Lending has a 52 week low of $12.43 and a 52 week high of $17.27. The company's 50 day moving average price is $13.37 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $13.82. The company has a quick ratio of 1.85, a current ratio of 1.85 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.27. The stock has a market cap of $664.30 million, a P/E ratio of 10.27 and a beta of 0.32.

Nuveen Churchill Direct Lending (NYSE:NCDL - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, February 26th. The company reported $0.44 EPS for the quarter, topping 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, equities 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 business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 28th. Investors of record on Tuesday, March 31st will be issued a $0.36 dividend. This represents a $1.44 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 10.7%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, March 31st. Nuveen Churchill Direct Lending's payout ratio is 109.92%.

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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