Morgan Stanley Direct Lending Fund (NYSE:MSDL) Given New $18.50 Price Target at Keefe, Bruyette & Woods

Morgan Stanley Direct Lending Fund (NYSE:MSDL) had its price target lowered by Keefe, Bruyette & Woods from $20.00 to $18.50 in a report issued on Monday,Benzinga reports. The firm currently has a market perform rating on the stock.

Other research analysts have also issued research reports about the company. Raymond James Financial set a $18.50 price objective on Morgan Stanley Direct Lending Fund and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 7th. UBS Group decreased their target price on Morgan Stanley Direct Lending Fund from $19.50 to $18.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, October 14th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price target on Morgan Stanley Direct Lending Fund from $18.00 to $16.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, October 1st. Zacks Research lowered shares of Morgan Stanley Direct Lending Fund from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research report on Friday, August 22nd. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company set a $17.00 price objective on shares of Morgan Stanley Direct Lending Fund and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, October 6th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, three have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Morgan Stanley Direct Lending Fund presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $17.92.

Morgan Stanley Direct Lending Fund Stock Up 0.1%

MSDL stock opened at $16.48 on Monday. The firm has a market cap of $1.43 billion, a PE ratio of 9.99 and a beta of 0.26. Morgan Stanley Direct Lending Fund has a 1 year low of $15.70 and a 1 year high of $21.75. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $17.06 and a 200 day simple moving average of $18.33. The company has a current ratio of 1.19, a quick ratio of 1.19 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.15.

Morgan Stanley Direct Lending Fund (NYSE:MSDL) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, November 6th. The company reported $0.50 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.49 by $0.01. Morgan Stanley Direct Lending Fund had a net margin of 35.92% and a return on equity of 10.15%. The firm had revenue of $99.72 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $98.55 million. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Morgan Stanley Direct Lending Fund will post 2.56 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Morgan Stanley Direct Lending Fund Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, January 23rd. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, December 31st will be given a $0.50 dividend. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 12.1%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, December 31st. Morgan Stanley Direct Lending Fund’s payout ratio is currently 121.21%.

Insider Activity at Morgan Stanley Direct Lending Fund

In related news, Director Joan Binstock acquired 9,030 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, October 6th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $16.64 per share, for a total transaction of $150,259.20. Following the completion of the purchase, the director owned 50,042 shares in the company, valued at approximately $832,698.88. The trade was a 22.02% increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director Adam S. Metz bought 28,248 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 13th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $17.67 per share, for a total transaction of $499,142.16. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 28,248 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $499,142.16. This trade represents a ∞ increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase is available in the SEC filing. 0.21% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Captrust Financial Advisors lifted its position in Morgan Stanley Direct Lending Fund by 1.8% in the second quarter. Captrust Financial Advisors now owns 49,345 shares of the company’s stock worth $924,000 after purchasing an additional 880 shares during the period. AdvisorNet Financial Inc raised its stake in shares of Morgan Stanley Direct Lending Fund by 27.3% in the 2nd quarter. AdvisorNet Financial Inc now owns 4,200 shares of the company’s stock valued at $79,000 after buying an additional 900 shares in the last quarter. Allworth Financial LP raised its stake in shares of Morgan Stanley Direct Lending Fund by 62.3% in the 2nd quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 2,606 shares of the company’s stock valued at $49,000 after buying an additional 1,000 shares in the last quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Morgan Stanley Direct Lending Fund by 2.4% during the 2nd quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 43,585 shares of the company’s stock worth $761,000 after acquiring an additional 1,021 shares during the period. Finally, Ameritas Advisory Services LLC boosted its position in shares of Morgan Stanley Direct Lending Fund by 53.3% during the 3rd quarter. Ameritas Advisory Services LLC now owns 3,388 shares of the company’s stock valued at $54,000 after acquiring an additional 1,178 shares in the last quarter.

About Morgan Stanley Direct Lending Fund

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.