Morgan Stanley Direct Lending (NYSE:MSDL) Given Consensus Recommendation of “Hold” by Brokerages

Morgan Stanley Direct Lending (NYSE:MSDL) has received a consensus recommendation of “Hold” from the six ratings firms that are covering the firm, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has given a buy rating to the company. The average 1-year price target among brokers that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $21.42.

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on MSDL. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price target on Morgan Stanley Direct Lending from $21.00 to $20.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, July 26th. UBS Group lowered Morgan Stanley Direct Lending from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $23.50 price target for the company. in a research note on Thursday, July 18th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their target price on Morgan Stanley Direct Lending from $22.00 to $20.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, July 29th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $22.00 target price on shares of Morgan Stanley Direct Lending in a research report on Friday, September 13th.

Morgan Stanley Direct Lending Stock Up 1.2 %

Morgan Stanley Direct Lending stock opened at $20.17 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.89, a current ratio of 1.09 and a quick ratio of 1.09. Morgan Stanley Direct Lending has a 1-year low of $19.05 and a 1-year high of $24.18. The company has a market cap of $1.80 billion and a PE ratio of 6.51. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $20.24 and its 200 day moving average price is $21.26.

Morgan Stanley Direct Lending (NYSE:MSDL) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 8th. The company reported $0.63 earnings per share for the quarter, meeting analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.63. The firm had revenue of $104.19 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $101.60 million. Morgan Stanley Direct Lending had a return on equity of 12.57% and a net margin of 60.60%. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Morgan Stanley Direct Lending will post 2.54 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Morgan Stanley Direct Lending Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a — dividend, which will be paid on Friday, October 25th. Shareholders of record on Monday, September 30th will be issued a $0.50 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, September 30th. This represents a yield of 10.1%. Morgan Stanley Direct Lending’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 64.52%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Morgan Stanley Direct Lending

Large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Virtu Financial LLC bought a new stake in shares of Morgan Stanley Direct Lending in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $223,000. Quadrature Capital Ltd acquired a new position in Morgan Stanley Direct Lending during the 1st quarter worth $223,000. Capstone Investment Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Morgan Stanley Direct Lending during the 1st quarter worth $646,000. Kingswood Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in Morgan Stanley Direct Lending by 64.8% during the 2nd quarter. Kingswood Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 30,713 shares of the company’s stock worth $671,000 after buying an additional 12,076 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Van ECK Associates Corp acquired a new position in shares of Morgan Stanley Direct Lending in the 1st quarter valued at $32,973,000.

Morgan Stanley Direct Lending Company Profile

Morgan Stanley Direct Lending Fund is a business development company. It is a non-diversified, externally managed specialty finance company focused on lending to middle-market companies. Morgan Stanley Direct Lending Fund is based in NEW YORK.