Morgan Stanley Direct Lending Fund (NYSE:MSDL) Shares Up 1.6% – Here’s What Happened

Morgan Stanley Direct Lending Fund (NYSE:MSDL)’s share price rose 1.6% on Thursday . The company traded as high as $15.43 and last traded at $15.3980. 1,593,571 shares were traded during trading, an increase of 184% from the average daily volume of 560,592 shares. The stock had previously closed at $15.16.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on MSDL. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price objective on shares of Morgan Stanley Direct Lending Fund from $16.50 to $14.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, March 13th. 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 note on Monday, April 20th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reduced their target price 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 decreased their price target on Morgan Stanley Direct Lending Fund from $18.00 to $16.00 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, March 5th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price target on Morgan Stanley Direct Lending Fund from $16.00 to $14.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Monday, March 2nd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and six have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $15.54.

Morgan Stanley Direct Lending Fund Stock Up 0.2%

The firm’s fifty day moving average is $15.22 and its 200-day moving average is $15.62. The company has a market capitalization of $1.31 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.25 and a beta of 0.53. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.21, a quick ratio of 1.61 and a current ratio of 1.61.

Morgan Stanley Direct Lending Fund (NYSE:MSDL) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 7th. The company reported $0.47 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.45 by $0.02. The business had revenue of $58.10 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $91.89 million. Morgan Stanley Direct Lending Fund had a net margin of 22.84% and a return on equity of 9.73%. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Morgan Stanley Direct Lending Fund will post 1.86 EPS for the current year.

Morgan Stanley Direct Lending Fund Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, July 24th. Investors of record on Tuesday, June 30th will be issued a dividend of $0.45 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, June 30th. This represents a $1.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 11.7%. Morgan Stanley Direct Lending Fund’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 178.22%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Morgan Stanley Direct Lending Fund

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of MSDL. NewEdge Advisors LLC bought a new position in Morgan Stanley Direct Lending Fund in the third quarter valued at about $32,000. SHP Wealth Management bought a new stake in shares of Morgan Stanley Direct Lending Fund during the fourth quarter worth about $39,000. DV Equities LLC acquired a new position in shares of Morgan Stanley Direct Lending Fund in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $41,000. Sunbelt Securities Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Morgan Stanley Direct Lending Fund in the first quarter valued at approximately $42,000. Finally, Ameritas Advisory Services LLC raised its holdings in 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 valued at $54,000 after buying an additional 1,178 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.