Morgan Stanley Direct Lending Fund (NYSE:MSDL) Given Consensus Recommendation of “Hold” by Analysts

Morgan Stanley Direct Lending Fund (NYSE:MSDL) has been given a consensus rating of “Hold” by the seven brokerages that are presently covering the firm, Marketbeat.com reports. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and one has assigned a buy recommendation to the company. The average 1 year price target among brokerages that have covered the stock in the last year is $15.5417.

MSDL has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. UBS Group boosted their target price on shares of Morgan Stanley Direct Lending Fund from $16.00 to $16.25 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, April 20th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lowered their price target on shares of Morgan Stanley Direct Lending Fund from $16.50 to $16.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, April 16th. Raymond James Financial restated an “outperform” rating and set a $17.00 price target on shares of Morgan Stanley Direct Lending Fund in a report on Thursday, March 5th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price target on shares of Morgan Stanley Direct Lending Fund from $16.50 to $14.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, March 13th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price target on shares of Morgan Stanley Direct Lending Fund from $16.00 to $14.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, March 2nd.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Morgan Stanley Direct Lending Fund

Large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Captrust Financial Advisors boosted its holdings 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 valued at $924,000 after acquiring an additional 880 shares during the period. Ameriprise Financial Inc. boosted its holdings in Morgan Stanley Direct Lending Fund by 2.4% during the second quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 43,585 shares of the company’s stock valued at $761,000 after acquiring an additional 1,021 shares during the period. Confluence Investment Management LLC boosted its holdings in Morgan Stanley Direct Lending Fund by 1.8% during the fourth quarter. Confluence Investment Management LLC now owns 72,156 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,189,000 after acquiring an additional 1,308 shares during the period. US Bancorp DE boosted its holdings in Morgan Stanley Direct Lending Fund by 61.9% during the third quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 3,707 shares of the company’s stock valued at $60,000 after acquiring an additional 1,417 shares during the period. Finally, Adams Asset Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in Morgan Stanley Direct Lending Fund by 1.6% during the fourth quarter. Adams Asset Advisors LLC now owns 111,397 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,836,000 after acquiring an additional 1,764 shares during the period.

Morgan Stanley Direct Lending Fund Price Performance

NYSE MSDL opened at $15.40 on Monday. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.31 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.25 and a beta of 0.54. Morgan Stanley Direct Lending Fund has a 1 year low of $13.66 and a 1 year high of $19.94. The business’s fifty day moving average is $15.22 and its two-hundred day moving average is $15.61. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.21, a quick ratio of 1.61 and a current ratio of 1.61.

Morgan Stanley Direct Lending Fund (NYSE:MSDL) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, May 7th. The company reported $0.47 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.45 by $0.02. Morgan Stanley Direct Lending Fund had a net margin of 22.84% and a return on equity of 9.73%. The company had revenue of $58.11 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $91.89 million. On average, research analysts forecast that Morgan Stanley Direct Lending Fund will post 1.86 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Morgan Stanley Direct Lending Fund Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, July 24th. Investors of record on Tuesday, June 30th will be issued a $0.45 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, June 30th. This represents a $1.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 11.7%. Morgan Stanley Direct Lending Fund’s dividend payout ratio is currently 178.22%.

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.