Carlyle Secured Lending, Inc. (NASDAQ:CGBD) Short Interest Up 189.3% in December

Carlyle Secured Lending, Inc. (NASDAQ:CGBD) was the target of a large increase in short interest in December. As of December 31st, there was short interest totalling 915,000 shares, an increase of 189.3% from the December 15th total of 316,300 shares. Approximately 2.0% of the shares of the stock are short sold. Based on an average trading volume of 195,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 4.7 days.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Separately, Wells Fargo & Company dropped their target price on Carlyle Secured Lending from $17.00 to $16.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, November 7th.

Carlyle Secured Lending Trading Down 1.8 %

Shares of NASDAQ:CGBD opened at $17.54 on Tuesday. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $17.38 and its 200-day moving average price is $17.32. Carlyle Secured Lending has a 1 year low of $14.76 and a 1 year high of $18.74. The firm has a market capitalization of $892.89 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.80 and a beta of 1.57. 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 (NASDAQ:CGBD) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, November 5th. The company reported $0.49 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.48 by $0.01. The business had revenue of $55.97 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $39.92 million. Carlyle Secured Lending had a net margin of 40.69% and a return on equity of 12.60%. During the same period last year, the firm posted $0.52 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Carlyle Secured Lending will post 1.98 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Carlyle Secured Lending Cuts Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, January 17th. Investors of record on Tuesday, December 31st will be issued a $0.45 dividend. This represents a $1.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 10.26%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, December 31st. Carlyle Secured Lending’s payout ratio is 89.39%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Carlyle Secured Lending

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd purchased a new position in shares of Carlyle Secured Lending in the third quarter worth about $492,000. Private Advisor Group LLC acquired a new stake in Carlyle Secured Lending in the 3rd quarter valued at about $235,000. Jane Street Group LLC lifted its stake in Carlyle Secured Lending by 30.9% in the 3rd quarter. Jane Street Group LLC now owns 13,775 shares of the company’s stock worth $234,000 after purchasing an additional 3,249 shares in the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Carlyle Secured Lending during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $585,000. Finally, Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC grew its position in shares of Carlyle Secured Lending by 8.8% in the third quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 19,150 shares of the company’s stock valued at $325,000 after purchasing an additional 1,546 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.