Morgan Stanley Direct Lending Fund (NYSE:MSDL) Receives Average Recommendation of “Hold” from Brokerages

Morgan Stanley Direct Lending Fund (NYSE:MSDL) has been assigned a consensus recommendation of “Hold” from the seven research firms that are covering the company, Marketbeat.com reports. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and one has given a buy recommendation to the company. The average twelve-month price target among brokers that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $15.50.

MSDL has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on shares of Morgan Stanley Direct Lending Fund from $14.00 to $14.50 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 2nd. UBS Group lowered their price objective on shares of Morgan Stanley Direct Lending Fund from $16.25 to $15.50 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday.

Morgan Stanley Direct Lending Fund Trading Up 0.5%

Morgan Stanley Direct Lending Fund stock opened at $15.27 on Friday. Morgan Stanley Direct Lending Fund has a one year low of $13.66 and a one year high of $18.07. The business’s fifty day moving average is $15.31 and its 200 day moving average is $15.12. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.28 billion, a PE ratio of 22.13 and a beta of 0.54. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.20, a current ratio of 1.71 and a quick ratio of 1.71.

Morgan Stanley Direct Lending Fund (NYSE:MSDL) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, August 6th. The company reported $0.45 earnings per share for the quarter, hitting analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.45. The business had revenue of $59.28 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $89.99 million. Morgan Stanley Direct Lending Fund had a return on equity of 9.61% and a net margin of 15.97%. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Morgan Stanley Direct Lending Fund will post 1.82 EPS for the current year.

Morgan Stanley Direct Lending Fund Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, October 23rd. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, September 30th will be paid a dividend of $0.45 per share. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, September 30th. This represents a $1.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 11.8%. Morgan Stanley Direct Lending Fund’s payout ratio is currently 260.87%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Morgan Stanley Direct Lending Fund

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. Caz Investments LP bought a new stake in shares of Morgan Stanley Direct Lending Fund in the second quarter worth $6,040,000. Ameritas Advisory Services LLC bought a new position in Morgan Stanley Direct Lending Fund in the second quarter valued at about $51,000. LM Advisors LLC bought a new position in Morgan Stanley Direct Lending Fund in the second quarter valued at about $1,310,000. Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc. boosted its position in Morgan Stanley Direct Lending Fund by 9.9% in the second quarter. Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc. now owns 315,801 shares of the company’s stock worth $4,775,000 after purchasing an additional 28,418 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Sunbelt Securities Inc. purchased a new position in Morgan Stanley Direct Lending Fund in the first quarter worth about $42,000.

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.