Short Interest in Morgan Stanley Direct Lending (NYSE:MSDL) Drops By 51.2%

Morgan Stanley Direct Lending (NYSE:MSDL - Get Free Report) was the recipient of a significant drop in short interest in January. As of January 15th, there was short interest totalling 164,100 shares, a drop of 51.2% from the December 31st total of 336,000 shares. Currently, 0.2% of the shares of the stock are short sold. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 524,200 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 0.3 days.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Morgan Stanley Direct Lending

Several institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Allworth Financial LP bought a new position in Morgan Stanley Direct Lending during the third quarter worth about $32,000. Muzinich & Co. Inc. bought a new position in Morgan Stanley Direct Lending in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $68,000. Total Clarity Wealth Management Inc. purchased a new position in Morgan Stanley Direct Lending in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $204,000. Centiva Capital LP bought a new stake in Morgan Stanley Direct Lending during the 3rd quarter valued at $213,000. Finally, Caprock Group LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Morgan Stanley Direct Lending during the third quarter worth $245,000.

Morgan Stanley Direct Lending Stock Down 0.4 %

MSDL traded down $0.08 during mid-day trading on Monday, reaching $20.93. 434,580 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 650,523. Morgan Stanley Direct Lending has a 1 year low of $19.05 and a 1 year high of $24.18. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.99, a quick ratio of 1.56 and a current ratio of 1.56. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.85 billion and a PE ratio of 8.21. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $21.00 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $20.38.

Morgan Stanley Direct Lending (NYSE:MSDL - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, November 7th. The company reported $0.66 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.65 by $0.01. The firm had revenue of $109.75 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $107.55 million. Morgan Stanley Direct Lending had a return on equity of 12.69% and a net margin of 54.89%. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Morgan Stanley Direct Lending will post 2.56 EPS for the current year.

Morgan Stanley Direct Lending Cuts Dividend

The business also recently announced a -- dividend, which was paid on Friday, January 24th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, December 31st were given a dividend of $0.10 per share. This represents a dividend yield of 10.1%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, December 31st. Morgan Stanley Direct Lending's dividend payout ratio is currently 78.43%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Separately, Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on shares of Morgan Stanley Direct Lending from $20.00 to $21.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 29th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Morgan Stanley Direct Lending presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $21.58.

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.