Nuveen Churchill Direct Lending (NYSE:NCDL) Hits New 12-Month Low - Time to Sell?

Key Points

• Nuveen Churchill Direct Lending fell to a new 52-week low of $12.50 (last $12.575) during mid-day trading.
• Analysts have trimmed targets and ratings—consensus is a Hold with a $15.40 average price target after recent cuts from Wells Fargo, KBW and others.
• The fund declared a quarterly dividend of $0.36 (annualized $1.44), yielding 11.4% with a 137.4% payout ratio, raising sustainability concerns; insiders (CEO and treasurer) bought shares in March, increasing their holdings.

Nuveen Churchill Direct Lending Corp. (NYSE:NCDL - Get Free Report) shares hit a new 52-week low during mid-day trading on Tuesday . The stock traded as low as $12.50 and last traded at $12.5750, with a volume of 40850 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $12.90.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts recently commented on NCDL shares. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price target on Nuveen Churchill Direct Lending from $14.00 to $13.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, March 4th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reduced their price objective 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. 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. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Nuveen Churchill Direct Lending from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 10th. Finally, Truist Financial reduced their price target on shares of Nuveen Churchill Direct Lending from $18.00 to $16.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, March 4th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have given a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Nuveen Churchill Direct Lending presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $15.40.

Nuveen Churchill Direct Lending Price Performance

The firm has a market cap of $625.03 million, a PE ratio of 9.65 and a beta of 0.44. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $13.43 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $13.92. 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 data on Thursday, February 26th. The company reported $0.44 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.43 by $0.01. The business had revenue of $26.36 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $49.60 million. Nuveen Churchill Direct Lending had a net margin of 31.57% and a return on equity of 10.48%. Equities analysts predict that Nuveen Churchill Direct Lending Corp. will post 2.28 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Nuveen Churchill Direct Lending Cuts Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 28th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, March 31st will be given a dividend of $0.36 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, March 31st. This represents a $1.44 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 11.4%. Nuveen Churchill Direct Lending's payout ratio is currently 137.40%.

Insider Activity at Nuveen Churchill Direct Lending

In other news, CEO Kenneth J. Kencel acquired 10,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 3rd. The stock was acquired at an average price of $13.04 per share, with a total value of $130,400.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the chief executive officer directly owned 58,117 shares in the company, valued at approximately $757,845.68. This trade represents a 20.78% increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Treasurer Shaul Vichness acquired 5,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 12th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $13.13 per share, for a total transaction of $65,650.00. Following the transaction, the treasurer directly owned 25,000 shares in the company, valued at $328,250. The trade was a 25.00% increase in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this purchase provides additional information. Insiders bought 47,547 shares of company stock valued at $635,105 over the last three months. Corporate insiders own 0.62% of the company's stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in NCDL. Lido Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Nuveen Churchill Direct Lending in the second quarter valued at approximately $349,000. Quantbot Technologies LP purchased a new stake in Nuveen Churchill Direct Lending in the second quarter worth about $152,000. Cresset Asset Management LLC grew its holdings in Nuveen Churchill Direct Lending by 17.6% during the 2nd quarter. Cresset Asset Management LLC now owns 36,025 shares of the company's stock worth $599,000 after acquiring an additional 5,391 shares in the last quarter. Callodine Capital Management LP boosted its stake in shares of Nuveen Churchill Direct Lending by 5.0% during the second quarter. Callodine Capital Management LP now owns 525,000 shares of the company's stock valued at $8,500,000 after purchasing an additional 25,000 shares in the last quarter. Finally, NewEdge Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of Nuveen Churchill Direct Lending by 33.0% during the second quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 4,511 shares of the company's stock valued at $73,000 after purchasing an additional 1,118 shares in the last quarter.

About Nuveen Churchill Direct Lending

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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