Morgan Stanley Direct Lending Fund (MSDL) Projected to Post Earnings on Thursday

Morgan Stanley Direct Lending Fund (NYSE:MSDL - Get Free Report) is anticipated to announce its earnings results after the market closes on Thursday, August 7th. Analysts expect the company to announce 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 posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 8th. The company reported $0.52 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.56 by ($0.04). The business had revenue of $101.50 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate 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 Price Performance

NYSE:MSDL traded down $0.18 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $18.52. 670,662 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 442,764. The company has a market cap of $1.63 billion, a PE ratio of 7.86 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 business's 50-day moving average price is $19.34 and its 200 day moving average price is $19.82. The company has a quick ratio of 1.36, a current ratio of 1.36 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.11.

Morgan Stanley Direct Lending Fund Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, July 25th. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 30th were paid a dividend of $0.50 per share. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 10.8%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, June 30th. Morgan Stanley Direct Lending Fund's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 91.74%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Kevin Shannon bought 10,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, June 6th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $19.43 per share, for a total transaction of $194,300.00. Following the purchase, the director owned 5,700 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $110,751. The trade was a -232.56% increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Company insiders own 0.21% of the company's stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A hedge fund recently raised its stake in Morgan Stanley Direct Lending Fund stock. Millennium Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Morgan Stanley Direct Lending Fund (NYSE:MSDL - Free Report) by 682.5% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 198,684 shares of the company's stock after acquiring an additional 173,292 shares during the quarter. Millennium Management LLC owned approximately 0.23% of Morgan Stanley Direct Lending Fund worth $3,966,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

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

About Morgan Stanley Direct Lending Fund

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.