Morgan Stanley Direct Lending (NYSE:MSDL) Sees Large Volume Increase – What’s Next?

Morgan Stanley Direct Lending (NYSE:MSDL) shares saw strong trading volume on Monday . 328,241 shares were traded during trading, an increase of 66% from the previous session’s volume of 197,672 shares.The stock last traded at $20.85 and had previously closed at $20.43.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts have recently issued reports on MSDL shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price target on shares of Morgan Stanley Direct Lending from $22.00 to $20.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, July 29th. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $22.00 price objective on shares of Morgan Stanley Direct Lending in a report on Friday, September 13th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $21.42.

Morgan Stanley Direct Lending Price Performance

The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $20.04 and a 200 day simple moving average of $20.10. The company has a market capitalization of $1.85 billion and a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.01. The company has a quick ratio of 1.56, a current ratio of 1.56 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.99.

Morgan Stanley Direct Lending Cuts Dividend

The company also recently announced a — dividend, which will be paid on Friday, January 24th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, December 31st will be issued a dividend of $0.10 per share. This represents a yield of 10.1%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, December 31st. Morgan Stanley Direct Lending’s dividend payout ratio is presently 78.43%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Morgan Stanley Direct Lending

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in MSDL. Van ECK Associates Corp increased its stake in Morgan Stanley Direct Lending by 16.3% during the 2nd quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 1,780,243 shares of the company’s stock valued at $38,898,000 after buying an additional 250,167 shares during the period. Raymond James & Associates lifted its position in Morgan Stanley Direct Lending by 377.5% in the third quarter. Raymond James & Associates now owns 123,822 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,449,000 after purchasing an additional 97,893 shares during the period. Activest Wealth Management acquired a new stake in shares of Morgan Stanley Direct Lending in the third quarter valued at $1,599,000. ASB Consultores LLC acquired a new position in Morgan Stanley Direct Lending during the third quarter worth about $1,589,000. Finally, Fountainhead AM LLC bought a new stake in Morgan Stanley Direct Lending in the third quarter worth about $515,000.

About Morgan Stanley Direct Lending

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.