Morgan Stanley Direct Lending Fund (NYSE:MSDL) Reaches New 1-Year Low – What’s Next?

Posted by Brenda Bartman on Oct 19th, 2026

Morgan Stanley Direct Lending Fund (NYSE:MSDL – Get Free Report) shares hit a new 52-week low on Monday. The stock traded as low as $12.91 and last traded at $12.8340, with a volume of 33,075 shares. The stock had previously closed at $13.03.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have recently issued reports on MSDL shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on Morgan Stanley Direct Lending Fund from $14.00 to $14.50 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 2nd. UBS Group reduced their price objective on Morgan Stanley Direct Lending Fund from $16.25 to $15.50 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, September 1st. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and six have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Morgan Stanley Direct Lending Fund presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $15.50.

Get Our Latest Stock Report on Morgan Stanley Direct Lending Fund

Morgan Stanley Direct Lending Fund Price Performance

The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $14.59 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $14.96. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.20, a quick ratio of 1.71 and a current ratio of 1.71. The company has a market capitalization of $1.08 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.53 and a beta of 0.58.

Morgan Stanley Direct Lending Fund (NYSE:MSDL – Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, August 6th. The company reported $0.45 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, hitting analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.45. Morgan Stanley Direct Lending Fund had a return on equity of 9.61% and a net margin of 15.97%. The business had revenue of $88.77 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $89.99 million. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Morgan Stanley Direct Lending Fund will post 1.82 earnings per share for the current year.

Morgan Stanley Direct Lending Fund Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, October 23rd. Investors of record on Wednesday, September 30th will be given a $0.45 dividend. This represents a $1.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 14.1%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, September 30th. Morgan Stanley Direct Lending Fund’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 260.87%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Morgan Stanley Direct Lending Fund

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Caz Investments LP acquired a new stake in Morgan Stanley Direct Lending Fund during the 2nd quarter worth about $6,040,000. Rivernorth Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Morgan Stanley Direct Lending Fund by 37.6% during the first quarter. Rivernorth Capital Management LLC now owns 1,052,351 shares of the company’s stock worth $14,691,000 after acquiring an additional 287,808 shares in the last quarter. LM Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Morgan Stanley Direct Lending Fund in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $1,310,000. TT Capital Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Morgan Stanley Direct Lending Fund by 19.7% during the 3rd quarter. TT Capital Management LLC now owns 411,059 shares of the company’s stock worth $5,603,000 after purchasing an additional 67,742 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc. lifted its position in shares of Morgan Stanley Direct Lending Fund by 9.9% in the second quarter. Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc. now owns 315,801 shares of the company’s stock worth $4,775,000 after buying an additional 28,418 shares during the last quarter.

Morgan Stanley Direct Lending Fund Company Profile

(Get Free Report)

Morgan Stanley Direct Lending Fund (NYSE: MSDL) is a business development company that seeks to generate current income and, to a lesser extent, long-term capital appreciation through investments in privately held middle-market companies. The fund is externally managed by MS Capital Partners Adviser Inc, an investment adviser affiliated with Morgan Stanley Investment Management.

MSDL primarily invests in directly originated senior secured loans, including first-lien and unitranche loans, to companies across a range of industries.