Carlyle Secured Lending, Inc. (NASDAQ:CGBD) Short Interest Down 13.6% in February

Carlyle Secured Lending, Inc. (NASDAQ:CGBD) saw a large decline in short interest in the month of February. As of February 28th, there was short interest totalling 347,200 shares, a decline of 13.6% from the February 13th total of 401,900 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 222,400 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 1.6 days. Approximately 0.8% of the shares of the company are sold short.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have recently commented on CGBD. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on Carlyle Secured Lending from $16.00 to $17.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Bank of America downgraded Carlyle Secured Lending from a “buy” rating to an “underperform” rating and set a $17.00 target price for the company. in a report on Monday, February 10th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on shares of Carlyle Secured Lending from $16.00 to $17.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 29th.

Carlyle Secured Lending Stock Performance

CGBD opened at $17.18 on Thursday. Carlyle Secured Lending has a 1-year low of $15.01 and a 1-year high of $18.74. The stock has a market cap of $875.44 million, a P/E ratio of 9.60 and a beta of 1.57. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $17.78 and its 200 day simple moving average is $17.46. 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 Cuts Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, April 17th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 24th will be issued a $0.40 dividend. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 9.31%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 24th. Carlyle Secured Lending’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 98.77%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Bank of America Corp DE grew its stake in Carlyle Secured Lending by 3.8% in the 4th quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 1,192,606 shares of the company’s stock valued at $21,383,000 after acquiring an additional 44,033 shares during the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. lifted its holdings in shares of Carlyle Secured Lending by 1,449.1% in the fourth quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 659,564 shares of the company’s stock valued at $11,826,000 after purchasing an additional 616,988 shares in the last quarter. Condor Capital Management grew its position in shares of Carlyle Secured Lending by 8.3% in the fourth quarter. Condor Capital Management now owns 266,836 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,784,000 after purchasing an additional 20,344 shares during the last quarter. Advisors Asset Management Inc. increased its stake in shares of Carlyle Secured Lending by 7.0% during the 3rd quarter. Advisors Asset Management Inc. now owns 265,982 shares of the company’s stock worth $4,514,000 after purchasing an additional 17,434 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Hager Investment Management Services LLC acquired a new position in shares of Carlyle Secured Lending during the 4th quarter worth approximately $4,093,000. 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.