Short Interest in Carlyle Secured Lending, Inc. (NASDAQ:CGBD) Decreases By 16.5%

Key Points

• Short interest fell 16.5% in April to 2,913,203 shares (about 4.2% of shares short) with a days-to-cover of 3.2 based on average daily volume.
• Director sale: John G. Nestor sold 4,401 shares on March 6, reducing his ownership by 44.38%; insiders now own 0.61% of the company.
• Dividend yields 13.5% (annualized $1.60) but carries a high payout ratio of 156.86%, indicating potential sustainability concerns despite the attractive yield.

Carlyle Secured Lending, Inc. (NASDAQ:CGBD - Get Free Report) was the recipient of a significant drop in short interest during the month of April. As of April 15th, there was short interest totaling 2,913,203 shares, a drop of 16.5% from the March 31st total of 3,488,734 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 901,181 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 3.2 days. Approximately 4.2% of the shares of the company are short sold.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director John G. Nestor sold 4,401 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $11.29, for a total value of $49,687.29. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 5,516 shares in the company, valued at $62,275.64. This trade represents a 44.38% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. 0.61% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Rossby Financial LCC purchased a new position in Carlyle Secured Lending in the third quarter valued at $25,000. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. increased its holdings in Carlyle Secured Lending by 71.9% in the second quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 2,630 shares of the company's stock valued at $36,000 after buying an additional 1,100 shares in the last quarter. State of Alaska Department of Revenue purchased a new position in Carlyle Secured Lending in the third quarter valued at $37,000. Kestra Advisory Services LLC purchased a new position in Carlyle Secured Lending in the fourth quarter valued at $47,000. Finally, Tower Research Capital LLC TRC increased its position in shares of Carlyle Secured Lending by 1,011.6% in the second quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC now owns 4,313 shares of the company's stock valued at $59,000 after buying an additional 3,925 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 24.51% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages recently issued reports on CGBD. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Carlyle Secured Lending from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Saturday, January 3rd. B. Riley Financial raised shares of Carlyle Secured Lending from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $13.00 target price for the company in a report on Wednesday, February 25th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their target price on shares of Carlyle Secured Lending from $12.00 to $10.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a report on Friday, March 13th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company reduced their target price on shares of Carlyle Secured Lending from $14.00 to $13.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Friday, February 27th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have assigned a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Carlyle Secured Lending currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $13.20.

Carlyle Secured Lending Stock Up 3.7%

Shares of CGBD stock opened at $11.86 on Friday. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $11.23 and a 200 day moving average of $12.02. The company has a current ratio of 0.85, a quick ratio of 0.85 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.31. The stock has a market cap of $831.74 million, a P/E ratio of 11.63 and a beta of 0.65. Carlyle Secured Lending has a twelve month low of $10.61 and a twelve month high of $14.95.

Carlyle Secured Lending (NASDAQ:CGBD - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 24th. The company reported $0.33 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.38 by ($0.05). The company had revenue of $66.91 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $67.26 million. Carlyle Secured Lending had a net margin of 27.38% and a return on equity of 8.56%. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Carlyle Secured Lending will post 1.44 EPS for the current year.

Carlyle Secured Lending Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, April 16th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, March 31st were issued a $0.40 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, March 31st. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 13.5%. Carlyle Secured Lending's payout ratio is presently 156.86%.

About Carlyle Secured Lending

Carlyle Secured Lending, Inc NASDAQ: CGBD is a closed-end, non-diversified business development company that provides customized debt financing solutions to middle-market companies. Chartered under the Investment Company Act of 1940, the company invests primarily in floating-rate senior secured loans, including first-lien, unitranche and one-stop structures. Its objective is to generate current income and capital appreciation through disciplined credit selection and active portfolio management.

The firm focuses on U.S.

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