Royal Bank Of Canada Cuts Morgan Stanley Direct Lending Fund (NYSE:MSDL) Price Target to $16.00

Morgan Stanley Direct Lending Fund (NYSE:MSDL) had its price target trimmed by Royal Bank Of Canada from $18.00 to $16.00 in a report issued on Thursday morning,Benzinga reports. They currently have a sector perform rating on the stock.

Other research analysts have also issued research reports about the stock. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price objective on shares of Morgan Stanley Direct Lending Fund from $16.00 to $14.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, March 2nd. Zacks Research raised Morgan Stanley Direct Lending Fund from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 12th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lowered their price target on Morgan Stanley Direct Lending Fund from $18.50 to $16.50 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, March 2nd. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on Morgan Stanley Direct Lending Fund from $16.00 to $16.50 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, November 10th. One equities research 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.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $16.33.

Morgan Stanley Direct Lending Fund Trading Down 0.1%

Shares of Morgan Stanley Direct Lending Fund stock opened at $14.78 on Thursday. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $15.94 and its 200-day simple moving average is $16.72. The company has a market cap of $1.27 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.56 and a beta of 0.34. The company has a current ratio of 45.48, a quick ratio of 45.48 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.19. Morgan Stanley Direct Lending Fund has a 1 year low of $14.25 and a 1 year high of $20.90.

Morgan Stanley Direct Lending Fund (NYSE:MSDL) last released its earnings results on Thursday, February 26th. The company reported $0.49 EPS for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $0.49. Morgan Stanley Direct Lending Fund had a net margin of 30.73% and a return on equity of 9.88%. The firm had revenue of $49.57 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $97.30 million. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Morgan Stanley Direct Lending Fund will post 2.56 EPS for the current year.

Morgan Stanley Direct Lending Fund Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, April 24th. Investors of record on Tuesday, March 31st will be paid a $0.45 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, March 31st. This represents a $1.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 12.2%. Morgan Stanley Direct Lending Fund’s payout ratio is presently 142.86%.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO Michael Jr. Occi bought 7,000 shares of Morgan Stanley Direct Lending Fund stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 2nd. The shares were bought at an average price of $14.87 per share, for a total transaction of $104,090.00. Following the purchase, the chief executive officer owned 28,500 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $423,795. This trade represents a 32.56% increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, insider Jeff M. Day purchased 5,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 5th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $14.89 per share, with a total value of $74,450.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the insider directly owned 22,818 shares in the company, valued at $339,760.02. The trade was a 28.06% increase in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this purchase are available in the official SEC disclosure. Corporate insiders own 0.21% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Morgan Stanley Direct Lending Fund

Institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. UBS Group AG lifted its stake in shares of Morgan Stanley Direct Lending Fund by 73.0% in the 4th quarter. UBS Group AG now owns 1,668,693 shares of the company’s stock valued at $27,500,000 after purchasing an additional 704,394 shares during the period. Altshuler Shaham Ltd acquired a new stake in shares of Morgan Stanley Direct Lending Fund during the fourth quarter worth $10,719,000. American Financial Group Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Morgan Stanley Direct Lending Fund during the fourth quarter worth $8,759,000. Marshall Wace LLP increased its holdings in Morgan Stanley Direct Lending Fund by 487.2% in the third quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 543,182 shares of the company’s stock valued at $8,734,000 after purchasing an additional 450,681 shares during the last quarter. Finally, HRT Financial LP acquired a new position in Morgan Stanley Direct Lending Fund in the fourth quarter valued at about $6,497,000.

About Morgan Stanley Direct Lending Fund

Morgan Stanley Direct Lending Fund (NYSE: MSDL) is a closed-end management investment company that seeks to provide investors with attractive current income and the potential for capital appreciation. The fund primarily invests in senior secured loans and other debt instruments issued by middle-market companies. By focusing on floating-rate structures, it aims to offer a measure of protection against rising interest rates while generating regular cash distributions.

The fund’s investment strategy centers on building a diversified portfolio of direct lending opportunities across a broad range of industries, including healthcare, business services, and industrials.