Morgan Stanley Direct Lending Fund (NYSE:MSDL) Given New $15.00 Price Target at Keefe, Bruyette & Woods

Morgan Stanley Direct Lending Fund (NYSE:MSDL) had its price objective reduced by investment analysts at Keefe, Bruyette & Woods from $16.00 to $15.00 in a research report issued on Monday, Benzinga reports. The brokerage presently has a “market perform” rating on the stock. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods‘s target price would indicate a potential upside of 7.76% from the company’s previous close.

Other equities analysts have also issued research reports about the company. UBS Group lowered their price target on Morgan Stanley Direct Lending Fund from $16.25 to $15.50 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, September 1st. Raymond James Financial set a $15.00 price objective on Morgan Stanley Direct Lending Fund in a research report on Thursday, October 22nd. One analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and six have given a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Morgan Stanley Direct Lending Fund has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $15.00.

Morgan Stanley Direct Lending Fund Stock Performance

NYSE MSDL traded up $0.30 during trading on Monday, reaching $13.92. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 361,800 shares, compared to its average volume of 645,003. 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 firm has a market cap of $1.17 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 278.40 and a beta of 0.56. Morgan Stanley Direct Lending Fund has a twelve month low of $12.71 and a twelve month high of $17.91. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $14.07 and its 200-day moving average price is $14.92.

Morgan Stanley Direct Lending Fund (NYSE:MSDL) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, August 6th. The company reported $0.45 EPS for the quarter, meeting analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.45. Morgan Stanley Direct Lending Fund had a net margin of 1.34% and a return on equity of 9.52%. The business had revenue of $88.77 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $89.99 million. As a group, analysts anticipate that Morgan Stanley Direct Lending Fund will post 1.81 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Morgan Stanley Direct Lending Fund

A number of large investors have recently bought and sold shares of MSDL. Lunate Capital Ltd increased its position in Morgan Stanley Direct Lending Fund by 19.5% during the 3rd quarter. Lunate Capital Ltd now owns 1,319,110 shares of the company’s stock worth $17,979,000 after purchasing an additional 215,296 shares during the period. Russell Investments Group Ltd. raised its stake in shares of Morgan Stanley Direct Lending Fund by 2.9% during the 3rd quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 1,092,790 shares of the company’s stock worth $14,895,000 after buying an additional 30,988 shares in the last quarter. Rivernorth Capital Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Morgan Stanley Direct Lending Fund by 37.6% during the 1st quarter. Rivernorth Capital Management LLC now owns 1,052,351 shares of the company’s stock worth $14,691,000 after buying an additional 287,808 shares in the last quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Morgan Stanley Direct Lending Fund by 1.6% in the 3rd quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. now owns 626,116 shares of the company’s stock valued at $8,534,000 after buying an additional 10,000 shares during the period. Finally, TT Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Morgan Stanley Direct Lending Fund by 19.7% in the 3rd quarter. TT Capital Management LLC now owns 411,059 shares of the company’s stock valued at $5,603,000 after buying an additional 67,742 shares during the period.

About Morgan Stanley Direct Lending Fund

Morgan Stanley Direct Lending Fund (NYSE: MSDL) is a business development company focused on providing financing to privately held, middle-market companies. The fund seeks to generate current income and, to a lesser extent, capital appreciation by investing primarily in senior secured loans and other debt investments.

MSDL generally targets established companies with strong market positions and invests across a range of industries. Its portfolio may include first-lien and unitranche loans, as well as selectively structured junior debt and equity investments.