Morgan Stanley Direct Lending Fund (NYSE:MSDL) Stock Now Rated “Hold” by Sell-Side Analysts

Shares of Morgan Stanley Direct Lending Fund (NYSE:MSDL) have been assigned an average rating of “Hold” from the seven research firms that are covering the firm, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has assigned a buy rating to the company. The average 1 year target price among brokerages that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $15.50.

MSDL has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. UBS Group reduced their target price on Morgan Stanley Direct Lending Fund from $16.25 to $15.50 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, September 1st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on Morgan Stanley Direct Lending Fund from $14.00 to $14.50 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, July 2nd.

Morgan Stanley Direct Lending Fund Price Performance

Shares of MSDL stock opened at $13.52 on Wednesday. Morgan Stanley Direct Lending Fund has a 52-week low of $13.43 and a 52-week high of $17.91. The stock has a market cap of $1.14 billion, a PE ratio of 19.60 and a beta of 0.58. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.20, a quick ratio of 1.71 and a current ratio of 1.71. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $14.95 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $15.04.

Morgan Stanley Direct Lending Fund (NYSE:MSDL) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, August 6th. The company reported $0.45 EPS for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $0.45. The company had revenue of $88.77 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $89.99 million. Morgan Stanley Direct Lending Fund had a net margin of 15.97% and a return on equity of 9.61%. As a group, analysts forecast that Morgan Stanley Direct Lending Fund will post 1.82 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, October 23rd. Investors of record on Wednesday, September 30th will be given a $0.45 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, September 30th. This represents a $1.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 13.3%. Morgan Stanley Direct Lending Fund’s payout ratio is currently 260.87%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Morgan Stanley Direct Lending Fund

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Confluence Investment Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Morgan Stanley Direct Lending Fund by 2.0% in the 3rd quarter. Confluence Investment Management LLC now owns 68,882 shares of the company’s stock valued at $939,000 after acquiring an additional 1,369 shares in the last quarter. SHP Wealth Management acquired a new position in shares of Morgan Stanley Direct Lending Fund during the 4th quarter worth approximately $39,000. Sunbelt Securities Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Morgan Stanley Direct Lending Fund during the 1st quarter worth approximately $42,000. Ameritas Advisory Services LLC bought a new stake in shares of Morgan Stanley Direct Lending Fund during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $51,000. Finally, BI Asset Management Fondsmaeglerselskab A S raised its stake in shares of Morgan Stanley Direct Lending Fund by 3.1% during the 1st quarter. BI Asset Management Fondsmaeglerselskab A S now owns 133,731 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,867,000 after purchasing an additional 3,980 shares in the last quarter.

About Morgan Stanley Direct Lending Fund

Morgan Stanley Direct Lending Fund (NYSE: MSDL) is a business development company that seeks to generate current income and, to a lesser extent, long-term capital appreciation through investments in privately held middle-market companies. The fund is externally managed by MS Capital Partners Adviser Inc, an investment adviser affiliated with Morgan Stanley Investment Management.

MSDL primarily invests in directly originated senior secured loans, including first-lien and unitranche loans, to companies across a range of industries.