Morgan Stanley Direct Lending Fund (NYSE:MSDL) Cut to Equal Weight at Wells Fargo & Company

Wells Fargo & Company downgraded shares of Morgan Stanley Direct Lending Fund (NYSE:MSDL) from an overweight rating to an equal weight rating in a report released on Wednesday morning, Marketbeat reports. The brokerage currently has $16.00 price objective on the stock, down from their prior price objective of $17.00.

A number of other analysts have also issued reports on the company. Raymond James Financial set a $18.50 price objective on Morgan Stanley Direct Lending Fund and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 7th. Zacks Research upgraded Morgan Stanley Direct Lending Fund from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 12th. UBS Group lowered their price target on shares of Morgan Stanley Direct Lending Fund from $19.50 to $18.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, October 14th. Royal Bank Of Canada reaffirmed a “sector perform” rating and set a $18.00 price objective (down previously from $19.00) on shares of Morgan Stanley Direct Lending Fund in a research note on Wednesday, November 26th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lowered their target price on shares of Morgan Stanley Direct Lending Fund from $20.00 to $18.50 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, November 10th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and six have assigned a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Morgan Stanley Direct Lending Fund presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $17.58.

Morgan Stanley Direct Lending Fund Price Performance

MSDL opened at $16.61 on Wednesday. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $16.93 and a 200-day moving average price of $17.59. Morgan Stanley Direct Lending Fund has a twelve month low of $15.70 and a twelve month high of $21.75. The company has a quick ratio of 1.45, a current ratio of 1.45 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.17. The company has a market capitalization of $1.44 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.06 and a beta of 0.26.

Morgan Stanley Direct Lending Fund (NYSE:MSDL) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, November 6th. The company reported $0.50 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.49 by $0.01. Morgan Stanley Direct Lending Fund had a net margin of 35.92% and a return on equity of 10.21%. The company had revenue of $99.72 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $98.55 million. Equities analysts expect that Morgan Stanley Direct Lending Fund will post 2.56 EPS for the current year.

Morgan Stanley Direct Lending Fund Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, January 23rd. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, December 31st will be given a dividend of $0.50 per share. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, December 31st. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 12.0%. Morgan Stanley Direct Lending Fund’s payout ratio is presently 121.21%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CIO Ashwin Krishnan purchased 3,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, November 11th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $16.72 per share, with a total value of $50,160.00. Following the acquisition, the executive directly owned 3,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $50,160. This represents a ∞ increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. 0.21% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Captrust Financial Advisors lifted its stake in Morgan Stanley Direct Lending Fund by 1.8% during the second quarter. Captrust Financial Advisors now owns 49,345 shares of the company’s stock worth $924,000 after purchasing an additional 880 shares during the last quarter. AdvisorNet Financial Inc raised its holdings in shares of Morgan Stanley Direct Lending Fund by 27.3% during the 2nd quarter. AdvisorNet Financial Inc now owns 4,200 shares of the company’s stock valued at $79,000 after buying an additional 900 shares in the last quarter. Allworth Financial LP lifted its position in Morgan Stanley Direct Lending Fund by 62.3% in the 2nd quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 2,606 shares of the company’s stock worth $49,000 after buying an additional 1,000 shares during the last quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. lifted its position in Morgan Stanley Direct Lending Fund by 2.4% in the 2nd quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 43,585 shares of the company’s stock worth $761,000 after buying an additional 1,021 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Ameritas Advisory Services LLC boosted its stake in Morgan Stanley Direct Lending Fund by 53.3% in the third quarter. Ameritas Advisory Services LLC now owns 3,388 shares of the company’s stock worth $54,000 after buying an additional 1,178 shares in the last quarter.

About Morgan Stanley Direct Lending Fund

Morgan Stanley Direct Lending Fund (NYSE: MSDL) is a closed-end management investment company that seeks to provide investors with attractive current income and the potential for capital appreciation. The fund primarily invests in senior secured loans and other debt instruments issued by middle-market companies. By focusing on floating-rate structures, it aims to offer a measure of protection against rising interest rates while generating regular cash distributions.

The fund’s investment strategy centers on building a diversified portfolio of direct lending opportunities across a broad range of industries, including healthcare, business services, and industrials.