Brokerages Set Morgan Stanley Direct Lending Fund (NYSE:MSDL) Price Target at $15.54

Shares of Morgan Stanley Direct Lending Fund (NYSE:MSDL) have earned a consensus recommendation of “Hold” from the seven brokerages that are presently covering the firm, Marketbeat reports. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and one has issued a buy recommendation on the company. The average 12-month target price among brokerages that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $15.5417.

Several research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price objective on shares of Morgan Stanley Direct Lending Fund from $16.00 to $14.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, March 2nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their target price on shares of Morgan Stanley Direct Lending Fund from $16.50 to $14.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, March 13th. Royal Bank Of Canada lowered their price objective on shares of Morgan Stanley Direct Lending Fund from $18.00 to $16.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, March 5th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reduced their target price on shares of Morgan Stanley Direct Lending Fund from $16.50 to $16.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, April 16th. Finally, Raymond James Financial reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $17.00 target price on shares of Morgan Stanley Direct Lending Fund in a research note on Thursday, March 5th.

Morgan Stanley Direct Lending Fund Stock Up 0.4%

NYSE MSDL opened at $15.48 on Monday. The company has a current ratio of 1.61, a quick ratio of 1.61 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.21. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $15.27 and its two-hundred day moving average is $15.53. The company has a market capitalization of $1.31 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.32 and a beta of 0.54. Morgan Stanley Direct Lending Fund has a 1-year low of $13.66 and a 1-year high of $19.94.

Morgan Stanley Direct Lending Fund (NYSE:MSDL) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 7th. The company reported $0.47 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.45 by $0.02. Morgan Stanley Direct Lending Fund had a return on equity of 9.73% and a net margin of 22.84%.The firm had revenue of $58.11 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $91.89 million. Equities analysts forecast that Morgan Stanley Direct Lending Fund will post 1.86 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Morgan Stanley Direct Lending Fund Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, July 24th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, June 30th will be paid a dividend of $0.45 per share. This represents a $1.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 11.6%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, June 30th. Morgan Stanley Direct Lending Fund’s dividend payout ratio is currently 178.22%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Morgan Stanley Direct Lending Fund

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of MSDL. Global Strategic Investment Solutions LLC lifted its position in Morgan Stanley Direct Lending Fund by 16.0% during the fourth quarter. Global Strategic Investment Solutions LLC now owns 21,294 shares of the company’s stock worth $351,000 after acquiring an additional 2,934 shares during the last quarter. GraniteShares Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Morgan Stanley Direct Lending Fund during the fourth quarter worth approximately $2,623,000. Cura Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Morgan Stanley Direct Lending Fund during the fourth quarter worth approximately $168,000. Sound Income Strategies LLC bought a new position in shares of Morgan Stanley Direct Lending Fund during the fourth quarter worth approximately $66,000. Finally, Muzinich & Co. Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Morgan Stanley Direct Lending Fund by 31.1% during the fourth quarter. Muzinich & Co. Inc. now owns 766,451 shares of the company’s stock worth $12,631,000 after purchasing an additional 181,830 shares during the period.

About Morgan Stanley Direct Lending Fund

Morgan Stanley Direct Lending Fund (NYSE: MSDL) is a closed-end management investment company that seeks to provide investors with attractive current income and the potential for capital appreciation. The fund primarily invests in senior secured loans and other debt instruments issued by middle-market companies. By focusing on floating-rate structures, it aims to offer a measure of protection against rising interest rates while generating regular cash distributions.

The fund’s investment strategy centers on building a diversified portfolio of direct lending opportunities across a broad range of industries, including healthcare, business services, and industrials.