Morgan Stanley Direct Lending Fund (NYSE:MSDL) Receives Average Rating of “Hold” from Analysts

Morgan Stanley Direct Lending Fund (NYSE:MSDL) has earned an average rating of “Hold” from the seven ratings firms that are covering the company, Marketbeat reports. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has assigned a buy rating to the company. The average 1-year price objective among brokerages that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $15.6250.

A number of analysts recently weighed in on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on shares of Morgan Stanley Direct Lending Fund from $14.00 to $14.50 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 2nd. UBS Group boosted their target price on Morgan Stanley Direct Lending Fund from $16.00 to $16.25 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, April 20th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods cut their target price on Morgan Stanley Direct Lending Fund from $16.50 to $16.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, April 16th.

Morgan Stanley Direct Lending Fund Price Performance

Shares of Morgan Stanley Direct Lending Fund stock opened at $15.36 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $1.30 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.21 and a beta of 0.52. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.21, a quick ratio of 1.61 and a current ratio of 1.61. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $15.31 and a 200-day moving average price of $15.33. Morgan Stanley Direct Lending Fund has a one year low of $13.66 and a one year high of $19.94.

Morgan Stanley Direct Lending Fund (NYSE:MSDL) last released its earnings results on Thursday, May 7th. The company reported $0.47 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.45 by $0.02. Morgan Stanley Direct Lending Fund had a return on equity of 9.73% and a net margin of 22.84%.The firm had revenue of $58.10 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $91.89 million. Equities analysts expect that Morgan Stanley Direct Lending Fund will post 1.84 EPS for the current year.

Morgan Stanley Direct Lending Fund Announces Dividend

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 dividend of $0.45 per share. 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 payout ratio is presently 178.22%.

Institutional Trading of Morgan Stanley Direct Lending Fund

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of MSDL. UBS Group AG boosted its stake in shares of Morgan Stanley Direct Lending Fund by 73.0% during the fourth quarter. UBS Group AG now owns 1,668,693 shares of the company’s stock valued at $27,500,000 after purchasing an additional 704,394 shares during the period. Rivernorth Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in Morgan Stanley Direct Lending Fund by 37.6% during the 1st quarter. Rivernorth Capital Management LLC now owns 1,052,351 shares of the company’s stock valued at $14,691,000 after buying an additional 287,808 shares in the last quarter. Muzinich & Co. Inc. boosted its position in Morgan Stanley Direct Lending Fund by 31.1% in the 4th quarter. Muzinich & Co. Inc. now owns 766,451 shares of the company’s stock valued at $12,631,000 after buying an additional 181,830 shares during the period. Toronto Dominion Bank boosted its position in Morgan Stanley Direct Lending Fund by 26.2% in the 4th quarter. Toronto Dominion Bank now owns 713,641 shares of the company’s stock valued at $11,761,000 after buying an additional 148,020 shares during the period. Finally, Altshuler Shaham Ltd bought a new position in Morgan Stanley Direct Lending Fund in the 4th quarter worth about $10,719,000.

Morgan Stanley Direct Lending Fund Company Profile

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.