Keefe, Bruyette & Woods Has Lowered Expectations for Morgan Stanley Direct Lending Fund (NYSE:MSDL) Stock Price

Key Points

• Keefe, Bruyette & Woods cut its price target on Morgan Stanley Direct Lending Fund from $16 to $15, maintaining a “market perform” rating; the new target implies 7.76% upside from the stock’s current price.
• Analyst sentiment is broadly neutral: the consensus rating is “Hold,” with a $15 average price target; six analysts rate the stock Hold and one rates it Buy.
• In its latest reported quarter, the fund’s $0.45 earnings per share matched estimates, while revenue of $88.77 million fell short of the $89.99 million consensus.

Morgan Stanley Direct Lending Fund (NYSE:MSDL - Get Free Report) had its price target reduced by equities research analysts at Keefe, Bruyette & Woods from $16.00 to $15.00 in a research note issued to investors on Monday, Benzinga reports. The firm currently has a "market perform" rating on the stock. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods's price objective would indicate a potential upside of 7.76% from the stock's current price.

Several other equities analysts have also commented on MSDL. Raymond James Financial set a $15.00 price target on shares of Morgan Stanley Direct Lending Fund in a research note on Thursday, October 22nd. UBS Group reduced their price objective on shares of Morgan Stanley Direct Lending Fund from $16.25 to $15.50 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, September 1st. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and six have assigned a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $15.00.

Morgan Stanley Direct Lending Fund Stock Up 2.2%

Shares of NYSE:MSDL traded up $0.30 on Monday, hitting $13.92. 361,800 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 645,003. Morgan Stanley Direct Lending Fund has a 1-year low of $12.71 and a 1-year high of $17.91. The company has a market capitalization of $1.17 billion, a PE ratio of 278.40 and a beta of 0.56. 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's 50-day moving average is $14.07 and its 200 day moving average is $14.92.

Morgan Stanley Direct Lending Fund (NYSE:MSDL - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, August 6th. The company reported $0.45 earnings per share for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $0.45. The business had revenue of $88.77 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $89.99 million. Morgan Stanley Direct Lending Fund had a return on equity of 9.52% and a net margin of 1.34%. Sell-side analysts predict that Morgan Stanley Direct Lending Fund will post 1.81 EPS for the current year.

Institutional Trading of Morgan Stanley Direct Lending Fund

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Lunate Capital Ltd boosted its position in shares of Morgan Stanley Direct Lending Fund by 19.5% in the 3rd quarter. Lunate Capital Ltd now owns 1,319,110 shares of the company's stock valued at $17,979,000 after purchasing an additional 215,296 shares during the period. Russell Investments Group Ltd. increased its position in Morgan Stanley Direct Lending Fund by 2.9% during the third 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 during the period. Rivernorth Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in 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 buying an additional 287,808 shares during the last quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. lifted its stake in Morgan Stanley Direct Lending Fund by 1.6% in the third 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 last quarter. Finally, Caz Investments LP acquired a new stake in shares of Morgan Stanley Direct Lending Fund in the second quarter valued at approximately $6,040,000.

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.

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