Morgan Stanley Direct Lending Fund (NYSE:MSDL) Stock Gets Price Target Cut from Keefe, Bruyette & Woods

Morgan Stanley Direct Lending Fund (NYSE:MSDL) had its price objective cut by Keefe, Bruyette & Woods from $16.00 to $15.00 in a research report report published on Monday morning,Benzinga reports. They currently have a market perform rating on the stock.

Other equities research analysts also recently issued research reports about the company. UBS Group cut their price objective on Morgan Stanley Direct Lending Fund from $16.25 to $15.50 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, September 1st. Raymond James Financial set a $15.00 target price on Morgan Stanley Direct Lending Fund in a report on Thursday, October 22nd. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $14.50.

Morgan Stanley Direct Lending Fund Stock Down 0.6%

MSDL stock opened at $13.92 on Monday. The firm has a market cap of $1.16 billion, a PE ratio of 7.41 and a beta of 0.56. Morgan Stanley Direct Lending Fund has a 12 month low of $12.71 and a 12 month high of $17.91. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.21, a current ratio of 1.23 and a quick ratio of 1.71. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $13.99 and a 200 day simple moving average of $14.88.

Morgan Stanley Direct Lending Fund Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, January 22nd. Shareholders of record on Thursday, December 31st will be paid a dividend of $0.45 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, December 31st. This represents a $1.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 12.9%. Morgan Stanley Direct Lending Fund’s dividend payout ratio is currently 3,600.00%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in MSDL. Russell Investments Group Ltd. increased its position in shares of Morgan Stanley Direct Lending Fund by 2.9% in the third quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 1,092,790 shares of the company’s stock worth $14,895,000 after acquiring an additional 30,988 shares in the last quarter. Lunate Capital Ltd raised its holdings in shares of Morgan Stanley Direct Lending Fund by 19.5% during the third quarter. Lunate Capital Ltd now owns 1,319,110 shares of the company’s stock valued at $17,979,000 after acquiring an additional 215,296 shares during the period. Lido Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of Morgan Stanley Direct Lending Fund by 115.8% during the third quarter. Lido Advisors LLC now owns 55,982 shares of the company’s stock valued at $763,000 after acquiring an additional 30,039 shares during the period. Creekside Partners purchased a new stake in shares of Morgan Stanley Direct Lending Fund in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $245,000. Finally, Commonwealth Equity Services LLC lifted its position in shares of Morgan Stanley Direct Lending Fund by 24.9% in the 3rd quarter. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC now owns 28,726 shares of the company’s stock valued at $392,000 after acquiring an additional 5,733 shares in the last quarter.

About Morgan Stanley Direct Lending Fund

Morgan Stanley Direct Lending Fund is a business development company that provides financing to U.S. middle-market businesses. Its investment strategy focuses primarily on privately originated senior secured loans, including first-lien and unitranche debt, and may include other debt or equity investments. The fund is externally managed by Morgan Stanley Investment Management, drawing on Morgan Stanley’s private credit and direct lending capabilities. It began operations in 2021 and became publicly traded on the New York Stock Exchange in 2024.