Short Interest in Morgan Stanley Direct Lending (NYSE:MSDL) Rises By 101.7%

Morgan Stanley Direct Lending (NYSE:MSDL) was the recipient of a significant increase in short interest in March. As of March 15th, there was short interest totalling 146,200 shares, an increase of 101.7% from the February 28th total of 72,500 shares. Currently, 0.2% of the shares of the stock are short sold. Based on an average daily volume of 617,100 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 0.2 days.

Morgan Stanley Direct Lending Price Performance

Shares of MSDL stock traded down $0.16 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $20.71. The company had a trading volume of 579,179 shares, compared to its average volume of 654,889. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.99, a current ratio of 1.56 and a quick ratio of 1.56. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $20.66 and its 200-day moving average price is $20.52. Morgan Stanley Direct Lending has a 52-week low of $19.28 and a 52-week high of $24.18. The company has a market capitalization of $1.83 billion, a P/E ratio of 8.12 and a beta of 0.65.

Morgan Stanley Direct Lending (NYSE:MSDL) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 27th. The company reported $0.57 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.63 by ($0.06). The company had revenue of $103.00 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $107.02 million. Morgan Stanley Direct Lending had a return on equity of 12.69% and a net margin of 54.89%. Equities research analysts forecast that Morgan Stanley Direct Lending will post 2.56 earnings per share for the current year.

Morgan Stanley Direct Lending Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, April 25th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 31st will be issued a dividend of $0.50 per share. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 9.66%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 31st. Morgan Stanley Direct Lending’s dividend payout ratio is presently 82.30%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts recently weighed in on MSDL shares. Royal Bank of Canada restated an “outperform” rating and set a $22.00 target price on shares of Morgan Stanley Direct Lending in a research note on Tuesday, March 4th. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price objective on Morgan Stanley Direct Lending from $21.00 to $20.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, March 3rd. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $21.38.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Squarepoint Ops LLC purchased a new stake in Morgan Stanley Direct Lending during the fourth quarter valued at $229,000. Two Sigma Advisers LP bought a new stake in shares of Morgan Stanley Direct Lending in the 4th quarter worth about $494,000. D. E. Shaw & Co. Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Morgan Stanley Direct Lending during the 4th quarter valued at about $2,715,000. Cubist Systematic Strategies LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Morgan Stanley Direct Lending by 257.1% in the 4th quarter. Cubist Systematic Strategies LLC now owns 52,741 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,090,000 after acquiring an additional 37,970 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Centiva Capital LP grew its position in Morgan Stanley Direct Lending by 61.3% in the fourth quarter. Centiva Capital LP now owns 17,356 shares of the company’s stock worth $359,000 after acquiring an additional 6,595 shares in the last quarter.

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.