Keefe, Bruyette & Woods Has Lowered Expectations for Morgan Stanley Direct Lending (NYSE:MSDL) Stock Price

Morgan Stanley Direct Lending (NYSE:MSDL - Get Free Report) had its price target dropped by Keefe, Bruyette & Woods from $21.00 to $20.00 in a report issued on Tuesday,Benzinga reports. The firm presently has a "market perform" rating on the stock. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods' price target suggests a potential upside of 7.93% from the company's current price.

A number of other equities research analysts have also weighed in on MSDL. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price target on shares of Morgan Stanley Direct Lending from $21.00 to $20.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a report on Monday, March 3rd. 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. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Morgan Stanley Direct Lending presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $21.10.

Morgan Stanley Direct Lending Stock Up 2.2 %

Shares of MSDL traded up $0.40 during midday trading on Tuesday, reaching $18.53. 562,500 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 688,888. The company has a current ratio of 1.56, a quick ratio of 1.56 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.99. Morgan Stanley Direct Lending has a 1-year low of $17.59 and a 1-year high of $24.18. The company has a market cap of $1.64 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 7.27 and a beta of 0.44. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $20.17 and a 200-day moving average price of $20.43.

Morgan Stanley Direct Lending (NYSE:MSDL - Get Free Report) last released 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). Morgan Stanley Direct Lending had a return on equity of 12.69% and a net margin of 54.89%. The company had revenue of $103.00 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $107.02 million. Research analysts expect that Morgan Stanley Direct Lending will post 2.56 earnings per share for the current year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc. raised its position in shares of Morgan Stanley Direct Lending by 313.9% during the 1st quarter. Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc. now owns 88,678 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,770,000 after acquiring an additional 67,251 shares in the last quarter. AdvisorNet Financial Inc bought a new stake in Morgan Stanley Direct Lending during the first quarter valued at $66,000. Confluence Investment Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Morgan Stanley Direct Lending by 3.0% during the first quarter. Confluence Investment Management LLC now owns 26,921 shares of the company's stock worth $537,000 after purchasing an additional 779 shares during the period. Squarepoint Ops LLC bought a new position in shares of Morgan Stanley Direct Lending in the 4th quarter worth about $229,000. Finally, Two Sigma Advisers LP acquired a new position in shares of Morgan Stanley Direct Lending in the 4th quarter valued at about $494,000.

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.