Carlyle Secured Lending, Inc. (NASDAQ:CGBD) Sees Significant Decrease in Short Interest

Carlyle Secured Lending, Inc. (NASDAQ:CGBD) was the target of a significant decrease in short interest during the month of October. As of October 31st, there was short interest totalling 312,500 shares, a decrease of 9.6% from the October 15th total of 345,800 shares. Approximately 0.7% of the company’s stock are short sold. Based on an average daily volume of 187,400 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 1.7 days.

Carlyle Secured Lending Trading Up 0.9 %

Shares of NASDAQ:CGBD traded up $0.15 during mid-day trading on Monday, hitting $16.37. The company had a trading volume of 143,570 shares, compared to its average volume of 209,601. The company has a market capitalization of $833.33 million, a PE ratio of 9.15 and a beta of 1.59. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $17.08 and a 200 day moving average price of $17.36. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.99, a current ratio of 1.11 and a quick ratio of 1.11. Carlyle Secured Lending has a one year low of $14.65 and a one year high of $18.74.

Carlyle Secured Lending (NASDAQ:CGBD) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, November 5th. The company reported $0.49 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.48 by $0.01. Carlyle Secured Lending had a net margin of 40.69% and a return on equity of 12.60%. The company had revenue of $55.97 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $39.92 million. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $0.52 EPS. As a group, research analysts forecast that Carlyle Secured Lending will post 1.99 EPS for the current year.

Carlyle Secured Lending Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, January 17th. Investors of record on Tuesday, December 31st will be paid a $0.45 dividend. This represents a $1.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 11.00%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, December 31st. Carlyle Secured Lending’s payout ratio is 89.39%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have commented on CGBD shares. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price target on shares of Carlyle Secured Lending from $17.00 to $16.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, November 7th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered shares of Carlyle Secured Lending from a “neutral” rating to an “underweight” rating and set a $17.00 target price on the stock. in a report on Monday, July 29th.

Institutional Trading of Carlyle Secured Lending

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in CGBD. Kingsview Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Carlyle Secured Lending in the 1st quarter worth about $171,000. CANADA LIFE ASSURANCE Co raised its holdings in shares of Carlyle Secured Lending by 13.4% during the 1st quarter. CANADA LIFE ASSURANCE Co now owns 46,578 shares of the company’s stock worth $759,000 after acquiring an additional 5,500 shares in the last quarter. Advisors Asset Management Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Carlyle Secured Lending by 4.6% during the 1st quarter. Advisors Asset Management Inc. now owns 265,325 shares of the company’s stock worth $4,319,000 after acquiring an additional 11,573 shares in the last quarter. Quadrature Capital Ltd raised its holdings in Carlyle Secured Lending by 6.6% during the 1st quarter. Quadrature Capital Ltd now owns 41,039 shares of the company’s stock valued at $668,000 after buying an additional 2,533 shares during the period. Finally, EMC Capital Management raised its holdings in Carlyle Secured Lending by 126.8% during the 1st quarter. EMC Capital Management now owns 13,021 shares of the company’s stock valued at $212,000 after buying an additional 7,280 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 24.51% of the company’s stock.

About Carlyle Secured Lending

Carlyle Secured Lending, Inc is business development company specializing in first lien debt, senior secured loans, second lien senior secured loan unsecured debt, mezzanine debt and investments in equities. It specializes in directly investing. It specializes in middle market. It targets healthcare and pharmaceutical, aerospace and defense, high tech industries, business services, software, beverage food and tobacco, hotel gamming and leisure, banking finance insurance and in real estate sector.