Morgan Stanley Direct Lending Fund (NYSE:MSDL – Get Free Report) and CaliberCos (NASDAQ:CWD – Get Free Report) are both small-cap finance companies, but which is the superior investment? We will compare the two businesses based on the strength of their profitability, risk, institutional ownership, dividends, analyst recommendations, valuation and earnings.
Profitability
This table compares Morgan Stanley Direct Lending Fund and CaliberCos’ net margins, return on equity and return on assets.
| Net Margins | Return on Equity | Return on Assets | |
| Morgan Stanley Direct Lending Fund | 15.97% | 9.61% | 4.28% |
| CaliberCos | -117.34% | -75.44% | -13.87% |
Risk and Volatility
Morgan Stanley Direct Lending Fund has a beta of 0.56, meaning that its share price is 44% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, CaliberCos has a beta of 0.01, meaning that its share price is 99% less volatile than the S&P 500.
Analyst Ratings
This is a breakdown of current recommendations and price targets for Morgan Stanley Direct Lending Fund and CaliberCos, 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 |
| CaliberCos | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1.00 |
Morgan Stanley Direct Lending Fund currently has a consensus target price of $15.17, indicating a potential upside of 6.47%. Given Morgan Stanley Direct Lending Fund’s stronger consensus rating and higher probable upside, research analysts plainly believe Morgan Stanley Direct Lending Fund is more favorable than CaliberCos.
Valuation and Earnings
This table compares Morgan Stanley Direct Lending Fund and CaliberCos”s gross revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.
| Gross Revenue | Price/Sales Ratio | Net Income | Earnings Per Share | Price/Earnings Ratio | |
| Morgan Stanley Direct Lending Fund | $397.29 million | 3.02 | $122.09 million | $0.69 | 20.64 |
| CaliberCos | $20.10 million | 0.24 | -$21.80 million | ($3.79) | -0.12 |
Morgan Stanley Direct Lending Fund has higher revenue and earnings than CaliberCos. CaliberCos is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Morgan Stanley Direct Lending Fund, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.
Institutional and Insider Ownership
4.1% of CaliberCos shares are held by institutional investors. 0.3% of Morgan Stanley Direct Lending Fund shares are held by company insiders. Comparatively, 8.3% of CaliberCos shares are held by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that endowments, large money managers and hedge funds believe a stock will outperform the market over the long term.
Summary
Morgan Stanley Direct Lending Fund beats CaliberCos on 12 of the 14 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 CaliberCos
Caliber (NASDAQ: CWD) is a vertically integrated alternative asset management firm whose purpose is to build generational wealth for investors seeking to access opportunities in middle-market assets. Caliber differentiates itself by creating, managing, and servicing proprietary products, including middle-market investment funds, private syndications, and direct investments which are managed by our in-house asset services group. Our funds include investment vehicles focused primarily on real estate, private equity, and debt facilities. Additional information can be found at Caliberco.com and CaliberFunds.co.
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