Nuveen Churchill Direct Lending (NYSE:NCDL) Cut to "Sell" at Wall Street Zen

Key Points

• Wall Street Zen downgraded Nuveen Churchill Direct Lending from “hold” to “sell”, adding to a wave of cautious analyst sentiment on the stock.
• The company’s shares were down 1.4% and opened at $12.78, below both its 50-day and 200-day moving averages; it also sits near its 12-month low of $12.43.
• Recent earnings were modestly below expectations, with EPS of $0.41 versus the $0.42 estimate and revenue of $17.15 million versus the expected $47.79 million.

Nuveen Churchill Direct Lending (NYSE:NCDL - Get Free Report) was downgraded by Wall Street Zen from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a note issued to investors on Saturday.

A number of other research firms have also recently issued reports on NCDL. Truist Financial reduced their target price on shares of Nuveen Churchill Direct Lending from $18.00 to $16.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, March 4th. Zacks Research cut shares of Nuveen Churchill Direct Lending from a "hold" rating to a "strong sell" rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 26th. UBS Group reduced their target price on shares of Nuveen Churchill Direct Lending from $15.50 to $14.75 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, May 18th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reduced their target price on shares of Nuveen Churchill Direct Lending from $16.00 to $15.00 and set a "market perform" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, February 27th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price objective on shares of Nuveen Churchill Direct Lending from $14.00 to $13.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, March 4th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, three have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $15.35.

Nuveen Churchill Direct Lending Stock Down 1.4%

NYSE NCDL opened at $12.78 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $631.06 million, a PE ratio of 10.65 and a beta of 0.50. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $13.48 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $13.67. Nuveen Churchill Direct Lending has a 12-month low of $12.43 and a 12-month high of $17.27.

Nuveen Churchill Direct Lending (NYSE:NCDL - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, May 7th. The company reported $0.41 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.42 by ($0.01). The business had revenue of $17.15 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $47.79 million. Nuveen Churchill Direct Lending had a net margin of 29.56% and a return on equity of 9.80%. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Nuveen Churchill Direct Lending will post 1.6 EPS for the current year.

Insider Transactions at Nuveen Churchill Direct Lending

In other news, CAO Marissa Hassen acquired 3,782 shares of Nuveen Churchill Direct Lending stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 12th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $13.21 per share, for a total transaction of $49,960.22. Following the completion of the purchase, the chief accounting officer owned 9,780 shares of the company's stock, valued at $129,193.80. This represents a 63.05% increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director James Joseph Ritchie acquired 17,857 shares of Nuveen Churchill Direct Lending stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 10th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $13.71 per share, with a total value of $244,819.47. Following the completion of the purchase, the director directly owned 78,193 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,072,026.03. The trade was a 29.60% increase in their position. The SEC filing for this purchase provides additional information. Over the last three months, insiders bought 31,639 shares of company stock worth $426,430. 0.68% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Nuveen Churchill Direct Lending

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. BI Asset Management Fondsmaeglerselskab A S increased its position in Nuveen Churchill Direct Lending by 2.7% during the third quarter. BI Asset Management Fondsmaeglerselskab A S now owns 27,149 shares of the company's stock worth $375,000 after acquiring an additional 723 shares during the period. Aprio Wealth Management LLC increased its position in Nuveen Churchill Direct Lending by 0.7% during the third quarter. Aprio Wealth Management LLC now owns 114,174 shares of the company's stock worth $1,576,000 after acquiring an additional 742 shares during the period. State of Wyoming increased its position in Nuveen Churchill Direct Lending by 16.4% during the third quarter. State of Wyoming now owns 7,739 shares of the company's stock worth $107,000 after acquiring an additional 1,090 shares during the period. NewEdge Advisors LLC increased its position in Nuveen Churchill Direct Lending by 33.0% during the second quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 4,511 shares of the company's stock worth $73,000 after acquiring an additional 1,118 shares during the period. Finally, BNP Paribas Financial Markets increased its position in Nuveen Churchill Direct Lending by 190.2% during the third quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 2,400 shares of the company's stock worth $33,000 after acquiring an additional 1,573 shares during the period.

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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