Morgan Stanley Direct Lending Fund (NYSE:MSDL) Stock Price Expected to Rise, JPMorgan Chase & Co. Analyst Says

Morgan Stanley Direct Lending Fund (NYSE:MSDL) had its price objective increased by research analysts at JPMorgan Chase & Co. from $16.00 to $16.50 in a research report issued to clients and investors on Monday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has a “neutral” rating on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co.‘s price target points to a potential downside of 1.24% from the company’s current price.

Several other brokerages have also issued reports on MSDL. UBS Group decreased their price target on shares of Morgan Stanley Direct Lending Fund from $19.50 to $18.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, October 14th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods decreased their target price on shares of Morgan Stanley Direct Lending Fund from $20.00 to $18.50 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday. Wells Fargo & Company set a $17.00 price target on shares of Morgan Stanley Direct Lending Fund and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, October 6th. 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. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada lowered their target price on Morgan Stanley Direct Lending Fund from $21.00 to $19.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, September 10th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, three have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Morgan Stanley Direct Lending Fund has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $17.92.

Morgan Stanley Direct Lending Fund Stock Up 1.6%

NYSE MSDL opened at $16.71 on Monday. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $17.04 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $18.32. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.45 billion, a PE ratio of 10.13 and a beta of 0.26. Morgan Stanley Direct Lending Fund has a fifty-two week low of $15.70 and a fifty-two week high of $21.75. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.17, a current ratio of 1.45 and a quick ratio of 1.19.

Morgan Stanley Direct Lending Fund (NYSE:MSDL) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, November 6th. The company reported $0.50 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.49 by $0.01. The company had revenue of $99.72 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $98.55 million. Morgan Stanley Direct Lending Fund had a return on equity of 10.21% and a net margin of 35.92%. Equities analysts expect that Morgan Stanley Direct Lending Fund will post 2.56 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at Morgan Stanley Direct Lending Fund

In related news, Director Joan Binstock bought 9,030 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, October 6th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $16.64 per share, with a total value of $150,259.20. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 50,042 shares in the company, valued at approximately $832,698.88. This trade represents a 22.02% increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. 0.21% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Morgan Stanley Direct Lending Fund

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in MSDL. Bartlett & CO. Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Morgan Stanley Direct Lending Fund in the third quarter worth approximately $30,000. Ameritas Advisory Services LLC bought a new position in Morgan Stanley Direct Lending Fund during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $41,000. Allworth Financial LP lifted its position 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 worth $49,000 after purchasing an additional 1,000 shares during the period. Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC lifted its position in shares of Morgan Stanley Direct Lending Fund by 225.0% in the 2nd quarter. Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC now owns 3,250 shares of the company’s stock worth $61,000 after purchasing an additional 2,250 shares during the period. Finally, State of Wyoming bought a new stake in shares of Morgan Stanley Direct Lending Fund in the 3rd quarter valued at $57,000.

Morgan Stanley Direct Lending Fund Company Profile

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.