Morgan Stanley Direct Lending Fund (NYSE:MSDL) Upgraded at Zacks Research

Morgan Stanley Direct Lending Fund (NYSE:MSDL) was upgraded by equities researchers at Zacks Research from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report released on Wednesday,Zacks.com reports.

MSDL has been the topic of several other research reports. Raymond James Financial set a $18.50 target price on shares of Morgan Stanley Direct Lending Fund and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 7th. Wells Fargo & Company set a $17.00 price target on shares of Morgan Stanley Direct Lending Fund and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, October 6th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods decreased their price objective on Morgan Stanley Direct Lending Fund from $20.00 to $18.50 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a report on Monday. UBS Group dropped their target price on Morgan Stanley Direct Lending Fund from $19.50 to $18.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, October 14th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada decreased their price target on Morgan Stanley Direct Lending Fund from $21.00 to $19.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, September 10th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have given a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Morgan Stanley Direct Lending Fund currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $17.92.

Morgan Stanley Direct Lending Fund Price Performance

MSDL opened at $16.70 on Wednesday. The company has a current ratio of 1.45, a quick ratio of 1.19 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.17. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.45 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.12 and a beta of 0.26. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $16.99 and a 200-day moving average price of $18.29. Morgan Stanley Direct Lending Fund has a 12-month low of $15.70 and a 12-month high of $21.75.

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

Insider Transactions at Morgan Stanley Direct Lending Fund

In related news, Director Joan Binstock acquired 9,030 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, October 6th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $16.64 per share, for a total transaction of $150,259.20. Following the acquisition, the director owned 50,042 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $832,698.88. This trade represents a 22.02% increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Insiders own 0.21% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Morgan Stanley Direct Lending Fund

Institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Captrust Financial Advisors boosted its position in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 880 shares in the last quarter. AdvisorNet Financial Inc lifted its position in Morgan Stanley Direct Lending Fund by 27.3% during the second quarter. AdvisorNet Financial Inc now owns 4,200 shares of the company’s stock valued at $79,000 after buying an additional 900 shares during the period. Allworth Financial LP lifted its position in Morgan Stanley Direct Lending Fund by 62.3% during the second quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 2,606 shares of the company’s stock valued at $49,000 after buying an additional 1,000 shares during the period. Ameriprise Financial Inc. grew its position in shares of 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 period. Finally, Ameritas Advisory Services LLC grew its position in shares of Morgan Stanley Direct Lending Fund by 53.3% in the 3rd 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 during the period.

Morgan Stanley Direct Lending Fund Company Profile

Morgan Stanley Direct Lending Fund is a business development company. It is a non-diversified, externally managed specialty finance company focused on lending to middle-market companies. Morgan Stanley Direct Lending Fund is based in NEW YORK.