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

Morgan Stanley Direct Lending Fund (NYSE:MSDL)’s stock price reached a new 52-week low on Tuesday. The company traded as low as $13.21 and last traded at $13.2350, with a volume of 598,253 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $13.38.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

MSDL has been the topic of several recent research reports. UBS Group dropped their price objective on shares of Morgan Stanley Direct Lending Fund from $16.25 to $15.50 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, September 1st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on shares of Morgan Stanley Direct Lending Fund from $14.00 to $14.50 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 2nd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and six have given a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $15.50.

Morgan Stanley Direct Lending Fund Stock Performance

The stock’s 50-day moving average is $14.68 and its 200 day moving average is $14.97. The stock has a market cap of $1.09 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 6.88 and a beta of 0.58. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.20, a current ratio of 1.71 and a quick ratio of 1.71.

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

Morgan Stanley Direct Lending Fund Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, October 23rd. Investors of record on Wednesday, September 30th will be issued a dividend of $0.45 per share. This represents a $1.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 13.9%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, September 30th. Morgan Stanley Direct Lending Fund’s dividend payout ratio is currently 260.87%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several large investors have recently bought and sold shares of MSDL. Rivernorth Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Morgan Stanley Direct Lending Fund by 37.6% in the first quarter. Rivernorth Capital Management LLC now owns 1,052,351 shares of the company’s stock valued at $14,691,000 after purchasing an additional 287,808 shares during the period. Altshuler Shaham Ltd purchased a new stake in Morgan Stanley Direct Lending Fund during the fourth quarter worth about $10,719,000. Caz Investments LP purchased a new stake in Morgan Stanley Direct Lending Fund during the second quarter worth about $6,040,000. Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc. boosted its holdings in Morgan Stanley Direct Lending Fund by 9.9% during 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 in the last quarter. Finally, BI Asset Management Fondsmaeglerselskab A S grew its position in Morgan Stanley Direct Lending Fund by 3.1% during the first quarter. BI Asset Management Fondsmaeglerselskab A S now owns 133,731 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,867,000 after buying an additional 3,980 shares during the period.

Morgan Stanley Direct Lending Fund Company Profile

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.