Morgan Stanley Direct Lending (MSDL) to Release Earnings on Thursday

Morgan Stanley Direct Lending (NYSE:MSDL - Get Free Report) is set to release its earnings data after the market closes on Thursday, November 7th. Analysts expect Morgan Stanley Direct Lending to post earnings of $0.65 per share for the quarter. Individual interested in participating in the company's earnings conference call can do so using this link.

Morgan Stanley Direct Lending (NYSE:MSDL - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 8th. The company reported $0.63 earnings per share for the quarter, hitting analysts' consensus estimates of $0.63. The firm had revenue of $104.19 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates 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, analysts expect Morgan Stanley Direct Lending to post $3 EPS for the current fiscal year and $2 EPS for the next fiscal year.

Morgan Stanley Direct Lending Price Performance

NYSE MSDL traded down $0.01 during trading hours on Thursday, reaching $19.88. The company's stock had a trading volume of 497,000 shares, compared to its average volume of 170,348. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.78 billion and a price-to-earnings ratio of 6.69. The company's 50-day moving average is $19.96 and its two-hundred day moving average is $20.05. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.89, a current ratio of 1.09 and a quick ratio of 1.09. Morgan Stanley Direct Lending has a 1-year low of $19.05 and a 1-year high of $24.18.

Morgan Stanley Direct Lending Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a -- dividend, which will be paid on Friday, January 24th. Investors of record on Monday, November 4th will be paid a dividend of $0.10 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, November 4th. This represents a yield of 10.1%. Morgan Stanley Direct Lending's dividend payout ratio is presently 67.34%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have weighed in on MSDL. Wells Fargo & Company dropped 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 report 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 report on Friday, September 13th. UBS Group lowered shares of Morgan Stanley Direct Lending from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating and set a $23.50 price objective on the stock. in a research report on Thursday, July 18th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price objective on shares of 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. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has given a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $21.42.

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.