Morgan Stanley Direct Lending Fund (MSDL) Expected to Announce Earnings on Thursday

Morgan Stanley Direct Lending Fund (NYSE:MSDL - Get Free Report) is expected to be posting its quarterly earnings results after the market closes on Thursday, August 7th. Analysts expect Morgan Stanley Direct Lending Fund to post earnings of $0.51 per share and revenue of $99.99 million for the quarter.

Morgan Stanley Direct Lending Fund (NYSE:MSDL - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data 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 company had revenue of $101.50 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $102.86 million. Morgan Stanley Direct Lending Fund had a net margin of 47.65% and a return on equity of 11.80%. On average, analysts expect Morgan Stanley Direct Lending Fund to post $3 EPS for the current fiscal year and $2 EPS for the next fiscal year.

Morgan Stanley Direct Lending Fund Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE MSDL traded down $0.18 during trading on Friday, reaching $18.52. 670,662 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 442,764. The firm's fifty day simple moving average is $19.33 and its 200 day simple moving average is $19.80. The stock has a market cap of $1.63 billion, a P/E ratio of 8.50 and a beta of 0.34. Morgan Stanley Direct Lending Fund has a 12-month low of $17.59 and a 12-month high of $21.75. The company has a current ratio of 1.36, a quick ratio of 1.36 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.11.

Morgan Stanley Direct Lending Fund Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, July 25th. Investors of record on Monday, June 30th were paid a $0.50 dividend. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 10.8%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, June 30th. Morgan Stanley Direct Lending Fund's payout ratio is currently 91.74%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director Kevin Shannon acquired 10,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Friday, June 6th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $19.43 per share, for a total transaction of $194,300.00. Following the purchase, the director owned 5,700 shares in the company, valued at approximately $110,751. This represents a -232.56% increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 0.21% of the company's stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Morgan Stanley Direct Lending Fund

An institutional investor recently raised its position in Morgan Stanley Direct Lending Fund stock. Millennium Management LLC boosted its holdings in Morgan Stanley Direct Lending Fund (NYSE:MSDL - Free Report) by 682.5% during the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 198,684 shares of the company's stock after acquiring an additional 173,292 shares during the period. Millennium Management LLC owned 0.23% of Morgan Stanley Direct Lending Fund worth $3,966,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

MSDL has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. UBS Group lifted their price target on Morgan Stanley Direct Lending Fund from $20.50 to $21.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 16th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods cut their price target on Morgan Stanley Direct Lending Fund from $21.00 to $20.00 and set a "market perform" rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, April 8th. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price target on Morgan Stanley Direct Lending Fund from $20.00 to $19.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, April 28th. Royal Bank Of Canada cut their price target on Morgan Stanley Direct Lending Fund from $22.00 to $21.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, May 22nd. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price objective on Morgan Stanley Direct Lending Fund from $20.50 to $19.50 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, April 24th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has given a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $20.10.

Morgan Stanley Direct Lending Fund Company Profile

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.