Wells Fargo & Company Cuts Nuveen Churchill Direct Lending (NYSE:NCDL) Price Target to $14.00

Nuveen Churchill Direct Lending (NYSE:NCDL) had its price target lowered by Wells Fargo & Company from $15.00 to $14.00 in a research note issued to investors on Wednesday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has an equal weight rating on the stock.

A number of other brokerages have also commented on NCDL. Wall Street Zen upgraded Nuveen Churchill Direct Lending from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Sunday, July 20th. UBS Group lowered their price target on shares of Nuveen Churchill Direct Lending from $17.00 to $15.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, October 14th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods dropped their price objective on shares of Nuveen Churchill Direct Lending from $17.00 to $16.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $15.75.

Nuveen Churchill Direct Lending Stock Up 0.9%

Shares of NCDL stock traded up $0.13 during trading hours on Wednesday, reaching $14.26. 139,367 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 266,204. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $14.53 and its 200-day moving average is $15.61. Nuveen Churchill Direct Lending has a fifty-two week low of $13.16 and a fifty-two week high of $18.01. The company has a market cap of $704.10 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.32 and a beta of 0.38. The company has a current ratio of 1.65, a quick ratio of 1.13 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.25.

Nuveen Churchill Direct Lending (NYSE:NCDL) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, November 4th. The company reported $0.43 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.46 by ($0.03). Nuveen Churchill Direct Lending had a return on equity of 11.13% and a net margin of 36.83%.The business had revenue of $51.11 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $52.00 million. Analysts predict that Nuveen Churchill Direct Lending will post 2.28 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Nuveen Churchill Direct Lending Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, January 27th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, December 31st will be paid a dividend of $0.45 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, December 31st. This represents a $1.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 12.6%. Nuveen Churchill Direct Lending’s payout ratio is currently 117.65%.

Insider Transactions at Nuveen Churchill Direct Lending

In related news, Treasurer Shaul Vichness purchased 5,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, September 16th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $14.85 per share, with a total value of $74,250.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the treasurer owned 15,000 shares in the company, valued at $222,750. This trade represents a 50.00% increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, CEO Kenneth J. Kencel purchased 20,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, November 6th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $14.22 per share, for a total transaction of $284,400.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 48,117 shares in the company, valued at approximately $684,223.74. The trade was a 71.13% increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase is available in the SEC filing. Company insiders own 0.62% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. MQS Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Nuveen Churchill Direct Lending during the third quarter valued at about $604,000. BI Asset Management Fondsmaeglerselskab A S raised its position in Nuveen Churchill Direct Lending by 2.7% in the third quarter. BI Asset Management Fondsmaeglerselskab A S now owns 27,149 shares of the company’s stock valued at $375,000 after purchasing an additional 723 shares during the period. State of Wyoming boosted its position in shares of 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 buying an additional 1,090 shares during the period. AlphaQuest LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Nuveen Churchill Direct Lending in the third quarter valued at $135,000. Finally, Modera Wealth Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Nuveen Churchill Direct Lending by 4.3% in the 3rd quarter. Modera Wealth Management LLC now owns 18,283 shares of the company’s stock valued at $252,000 after buying an additional 760 shares during the period.

About Nuveen Churchill Direct Lending

Nuveen Churchill Direct Lending Corp. is a specialty finance company focused primarily on investing in senior secured loans to private equity-owned U.S. middle market companies. It has elected to be regulated as a business development company. Nuveen Churchill Direct Lending Corp. is based in NEW YORK.