Royal Bank Of Canada Lowers Morgan Stanley Direct Lending Fund (NYSE:MSDL) Price Target to $16.00

Morgan Stanley Direct Lending Fund (NYSE:MSDL) had its target price lowered by stock analysts at Royal Bank Of Canada from $18.00 to $16.00 in a research report issued on Thursday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage presently has a “sector perform” rating on the stock. Royal Bank Of Canada’s price objective suggests a potential upside of 6.95% from the company’s current price.

A number of other analysts have also issued reports on the company. Zacks Research raised Morgan Stanley Direct Lending Fund from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 12th. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price objective on Morgan Stanley Direct Lending Fund from $16.00 to $14.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Monday. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods dropped their target price on shares of Morgan Stanley Direct Lending Fund from $18.50 to $16.50 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on shares of Morgan Stanley Direct Lending Fund from $16.00 to $16.50 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, November 10th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and six have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $16.58.

Morgan Stanley Direct Lending Fund Stock Performance

MSDL traded up $0.06 during trading on Thursday, hitting $14.96. The stock had a trading volume of 162,568 shares, compared to its average volume of 856,982. The firm has a market cap of $1.28 billion, a PE ratio of 10.69 and a beta of 0.34. The company has a current ratio of 45.48, a quick ratio of 45.48 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.19. Morgan Stanley Direct Lending Fund has a 12 month low of $14.25 and a 12 month high of $20.90. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $16.02 and a 200-day simple moving average of $16.76.

Morgan Stanley Direct Lending Fund (NYSE:MSDL) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 26th. The company reported $0.49 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $0.49. The company had revenue of $49.57 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $97.30 million. Morgan Stanley Direct Lending Fund had a return on equity of 9.88% and a net margin of 30.73%. Analysts expect that Morgan Stanley Direct Lending Fund will post 2.56 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity at Morgan Stanley Direct Lending Fund

In other Morgan Stanley Direct Lending Fund news, CEO Michael Jr. Occi bought 7,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 2nd. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $14.87 per share, for a total transaction of $104,090.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 28,500 shares in the company, valued at approximately $423,795. The trade was a 32.56% increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Insiders own 0.21% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Sapient Capital LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Morgan Stanley Direct Lending Fund during the third quarter worth approximately $223,000. Bartlett & CO. Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in Morgan Stanley Direct Lending Fund during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $30,000. Adams Asset Advisors LLC increased its holdings in Morgan Stanley Direct Lending Fund by 21.1% during the 3rd quarter. Adams Asset Advisors LLC now owns 109,633 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,763,000 after purchasing an additional 19,117 shares in the last quarter. TT Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in Morgan Stanley Direct Lending Fund by 19.6% during the 2nd quarter. TT Capital Management LLC now owns 237,762 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,451,000 after purchasing an additional 38,990 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC raised its position in Morgan Stanley Direct Lending Fund by 225.0% in the 2nd quarter. Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC now owns 3,250 shares of the company’s stock valued at $61,000 after purchasing an additional 2,250 shares during the last quarter.

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.