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

Morgan Stanley Direct Lending (NYSE:MSDL - Get Free Report) saw a large growth in short interest during the month of March. As of March 15th, there was short interest totalling 146,200 shares, a growth of 101.7% from the February 28th total of 72,500 shares. Currently, 0.2% of the company's shares are sold short. Based on an average trading volume of 617,100 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 0.2 days.

Morgan Stanley Direct Lending Stock Up 1.6 %

Shares of MSDL stock traded up $0.31 during trading hours on Tuesday, reaching $20.27. 242,437 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 654,506. The stock's fifty day moving average price is $20.63 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $20.53. The stock has a market cap of $1.79 billion, a PE ratio of 7.95 and a beta of 0.65. 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 $19.28 and a 1 year high of $24.18.

Morgan Stanley Direct Lending (NYSE:MSDL - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, February 27th. The company reported $0.57 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.63 by ($0.06). The firm 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%. Research analysts predict that Morgan Stanley Direct Lending will post 2.56 EPS for the current year.

Morgan Stanley Direct Lending Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, April 25th. Investors of record on Monday, March 31st will be given a dividend of $0.50 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 31st. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 9.87%. Morgan Stanley Direct Lending's dividend payout ratio is presently 82.30%.

Institutional Trading of Morgan Stanley Direct Lending

A number of hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of MSDL. Van ECK Associates Corp boosted its stake in shares of Morgan Stanley Direct Lending by 3.9% during the 4th quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 1,922,174 shares of the company's stock worth $39,712,000 after acquiring an additional 71,855 shares in the last quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC grew its holdings in Morgan Stanley Direct Lending by 1,987.0% in the 4th quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 352,700 shares of the company's stock valued at $7,287,000 after buying an additional 335,800 shares in the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Morgan Stanley Direct Lending by 207.9% in the fourth quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 237,754 shares of the company's stock valued at $4,912,000 after purchasing an additional 160,536 shares during the period. Activest Wealth Management grew its stake in shares of Morgan Stanley Direct Lending by 102.9% in the 4th quarter. Activest Wealth Management now owns 164,060 shares of the company's stock valued at $3,389,000 after buying an additional 83,217 shares during the period. Finally, Naviter Wealth LLC acquired a new stake in Morgan Stanley Direct Lending during the fourth quarter worth $3,434,000.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

MSDL has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price target on shares of Morgan Stanley Direct Lending from $21.00 to $20.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, March 3rd. Royal Bank of Canada reissued an "outperform" rating and issued a $22.00 price target on shares of Morgan Stanley Direct Lending in a research report on Tuesday, March 4th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $21.38.

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.