Balyasny Asset Management L.P. Takes Position in Morgan Stanley Direct Lending (NYSE:MSDL)

Balyasny Asset Management L.P. bought a new stake in Morgan Stanley Direct Lending (NYSE:MSDL - Free Report) in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm bought 18,706 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $386,000.

Other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Renaissance Technologies LLC boosted its holdings in Morgan Stanley Direct Lending by 1,987.0% in the 4th quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 352,700 shares of the company's stock worth $7,287,000 after acquiring an additional 335,800 shares during the period. Naviter Wealth LLC purchased a new position in shares of Morgan Stanley Direct Lending in the fourth quarter valued at $3,434,000. Franklin Resources Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Morgan Stanley Direct Lending by 207.9% in the fourth quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 237,754 shares of the company's stock valued at $4,912,000 after purchasing an additional 160,536 shares during the period. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new stake in Morgan Stanley Direct Lending during the 4th quarter valued at $3,051,000. Finally, Sfmg LLC purchased a new stake in Morgan Stanley Direct Lending during the 4th quarter worth $2,864,000.

Morgan Stanley Direct Lending Stock Up 0.2%

Morgan Stanley Direct Lending stock traded up $0.03 during midday trading on Thursday, hitting $19.41. The stock had a trading volume of 69,554 shares, compared to its average volume of 609,707. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $19.53 and a 200 day moving average price of $20.33. Morgan Stanley Direct Lending has a 12 month low of $17.59 and a 12 month high of $24.18. The stock has a market cap of $1.71 billion, a P/E ratio of 7.61 and a beta of 0.46. The company has a current ratio of 1.56, a quick ratio of 1.56 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.99.

Morgan Stanley Direct Lending (NYSE:MSDL - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 8th. The company reported $0.52 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.56 by ($0.04). The firm had revenue of $101.50 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $102.86 million. Morgan Stanley Direct Lending had a net margin of 54.89% and a return on equity of 12.69%. Research analysts predict that Morgan Stanley Direct Lending will post 2.56 EPS for the current year.

Morgan Stanley Direct Lending Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, July 25th. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 30th will be paid a dividend of $0.50 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, June 30th. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 10.30%. Morgan Stanley Direct Lending's payout ratio is 91.74%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on MSDL shares. Royal Bank of Canada reissued an "outperform" rating and issued a $22.00 price objective on shares of Morgan Stanley Direct Lending in a research report on Tuesday, March 4th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reduced their price target on Morgan Stanley Direct Lending from $21.00 to $20.00 and set a "market perform" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, April 8th. UBS Group lowered their price objective on Morgan Stanley Direct Lending from $21.00 to $20.50 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, April 17th. Wells Fargo & Company cut their target price on Morgan Stanley Direct Lending from $20.00 to $19.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, April 28th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their target price on Morgan Stanley Direct Lending from $20.50 to $19.50 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, April 24th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has issued a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, Morgan Stanley Direct Lending presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $20.20.

About Morgan Stanley Direct Lending

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.