Morgan Stanley Direct Lending Fund (NYSE:MSDL – Get Free Report) and Tri Continental (NYSE:TY – Get Free Report) are both small-cap finance companies, but which is the better stock? We will compare the two businesses based on the strength of their earnings, valuation, profitability, analyst recommendations, institutional ownership, risk and dividends.
Institutional & Insider Ownership
10.2% of Tri Continental shares are owned by institutional investors. 0.3% of Morgan Stanley Direct Lending Fund shares are owned by company insiders. Comparatively, 8.7% of Tri Continental shares are owned by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that large money managers, hedge funds and endowments believe a stock is poised for long-term growth.
Risk and Volatility
Morgan Stanley Direct Lending Fund has a beta of 0.53, meaning that its stock price is 47% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Tri Continental has a beta of 0.83, meaning that its stock price is 17% less volatile than the S&P 500.
Dividends
Earnings and Valuation
This table compares Morgan Stanley Direct Lending Fund and Tri Continental”s gross revenue, earnings per share and valuation.
| Gross Revenue | Price/Sales Ratio | Net Income | Earnings Per Share | Price/Earnings Ratio | |
| Morgan Stanley Direct Lending Fund | $397.29 million | 3.30 | $122.09 million | $1.01 | 15.32 |
| Tri Continental | N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A |
Morgan Stanley Direct Lending Fund has higher revenue and earnings than Tri Continental.
Profitability
This table compares Morgan Stanley Direct Lending Fund and Tri Continental’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.
| Net Margins | Return on Equity | Return on Assets | |
| Morgan Stanley Direct Lending Fund | 22.84% | 9.73% | 4.37% |
| Tri Continental | N/A | N/A | N/A |
Analyst Ratings
This is a breakdown of recent recommendations for Morgan Stanley Direct Lending Fund and Tri Continental, as provided by MarketBeat.
| Sell Ratings | Hold Ratings | Buy Ratings | Strong Buy Ratings | Rating Score | |
| Morgan Stanley Direct Lending Fund | 0 | 6 | 1 | 0 | 2.14 |
| Tri Continental | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0.00 |
Morgan Stanley Direct Lending Fund presently has a consensus price target of $15.62, indicating a potential upside of 0.97%. Given Morgan Stanley Direct Lending Fund’s stronger consensus rating and higher possible upside, equities research analysts plainly believe Morgan Stanley Direct Lending Fund is more favorable than Tri Continental.
Summary
Morgan Stanley Direct Lending Fund beats Tri Continental on 8 of the 12 factors compared between the two stocks.
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.
About Tri Continental
Tri-Continental Corporation is a closed ended equity mutual fund launched and managed by Columbia Management Investment Advisers, LLC. It primarily invests in the public equity markets of the United States. The fund invests in stocks of companies that operate across diversified sectors. It seeks to invest in stocks of large-cap companies. The fund benchmarks the performance of its portfolio against S&P 500 Index. Tri-Continental Corporation was formed in January 1929 and is domiciled in the United States.
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