JPMorgan Chase & Co. Increases Morgan Stanley Direct Lending Fund (NYSE:MSDL) Price Target to $14.50

Morgan Stanley Direct Lending Fund (NYSE:MSDL) had its price objective raised by investment analysts at JPMorgan Chase & Co. from $14.00 to $14.50 in a research note issued to investors on Thursday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage presently has a “neutral” rating on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co.‘s target price indicates a potential downside of 5.01% from the stock’s current price.

A number of other brokerages have also commented on MSDL. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lowered their price objective on 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. Royal Bank Of Canada reduced their target price on Morgan Stanley Direct Lending Fund from $18.00 to $16.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, March 5th. UBS Group upped their target price on Morgan Stanley Direct Lending Fund from $16.00 to $16.25 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, April 20th. Finally, Raymond James Financial reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $17.00 target price on shares of Morgan Stanley Direct Lending Fund in a research report on Thursday, March 5th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and six have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $15.62.

Morgan Stanley Direct Lending Fund Trading Up 1.0%

Shares of NYSE:MSDL opened at $15.27 on Thursday. The company has a current ratio of 1.61, a quick ratio of 1.61 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.21. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.29 billion, a PE ratio of 15.11 and a beta of 0.52. Morgan Stanley Direct Lending Fund has a 1 year low of $13.66 and a 1 year high of $19.94. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $15.27 and a 200 day moving average price of $15.48.

Morgan Stanley Direct Lending Fund (NYSE:MSDL) last posted 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 company had revenue of $58.10 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $91.89 million. Analysts expect that Morgan Stanley Direct Lending Fund will post 1.86 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Morgan Stanley Direct Lending Fund

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. NewEdge Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Morgan Stanley Direct Lending Fund in the third quarter worth $32,000. SHP Wealth Management bought a new position in Morgan Stanley Direct Lending Fund during the fourth quarter worth $39,000. DV Equities LLC acquired a new position in Morgan Stanley Direct Lending Fund during the 4th quarter valued at $41,000. Sunbelt Securities Inc. acquired a new position in Morgan Stanley Direct Lending Fund during the 1st quarter valued at $42,000. Finally, US Bancorp DE boosted its holdings in Morgan Stanley Direct Lending Fund by 61.9% in the 3rd quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 3,707 shares of the company’s stock valued at $60,000 after purchasing an additional 1,417 shares during the period.

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.