Morgan Stanley Direct Lending (NYSE:MSDL) Given Consensus Recommendation of "Hold" by Brokerages

Shares of Morgan Stanley Direct Lending (NYSE:MSDL - Get Free Report) have been given an average rating of "Hold" by the six ratings firms that are covering the firm, Marketbeat.com reports. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has assigned a buy rating to the company. The average twelve-month target price among analysts that have covered the stock in the last year is $21.42.

MSDL has been the subject of several research reports. Wells Fargo & Company decreased 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 research note on Friday, July 26th. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated an "outperform" rating and issued a $22.00 price target on shares of Morgan Stanley Direct Lending in a research note on Friday, September 13th. UBS Group downgraded shares of Morgan Stanley Direct Lending from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating and set a $23.50 price objective for the company. in a research note on Thursday, July 18th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their target price on 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.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Morgan Stanley Direct Lending

Institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Quadrature Capital Ltd bought a new stake in Morgan Stanley Direct Lending during the first quarter worth about $223,000. Virtu Financial LLC bought a new stake in shares of Morgan Stanley Direct Lending during the 1st quarter worth approximately $223,000. Kingswood Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of Morgan Stanley Direct Lending by 64.8% during the 2nd quarter. Kingswood Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 30,713 shares of the company's stock worth $671,000 after acquiring an additional 12,076 shares in the last quarter. Everpar Advisors LLC bought a new position in Morgan Stanley Direct Lending in the third quarter valued at approximately $377,000. Finally, Capstone Investment Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Morgan Stanley Direct Lending during the first quarter valued at approximately $646,000.

Morgan Stanley Direct Lending Trading Down 0.4 %

MSDL traded down $0.08 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, reaching $19.84. The stock had a trading volume of 121,299 shares, compared to its average volume of 136,952. The firm's fifty day simple moving average is $20.03 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $20.69. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.77 billion and a P/E ratio of 6.40. Morgan Stanley Direct Lending has a 52 week low of $19.05 and a 52 week high of $24.18. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.89, a quick ratio of 1.09 and a current ratio of 1.09.

Morgan Stanley Direct Lending (NYSE:MSDL - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, August 8th. The company reported $0.63 EPS for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $0.63. The firm had revenue of $104.19 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $101.60 million. Morgan Stanley Direct Lending had a net margin of 60.60% and a return on equity of 12.57%. On average, equities analysts predict that Morgan Stanley Direct Lending will post 2.54 EPS for the current year.

Morgan Stanley Direct Lending Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently announced a -- dividend, which will be paid on Friday, January 24th. Stockholders of record on Monday, November 4th will be given a $0.10 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, November 4th. This represents a dividend yield of 10.1%. Morgan Stanley Direct Lending's payout ratio is presently 64.52%.

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.