Morgan Stanley Direct Lending Fund (NYSE:MSDL) Short Interest Update

Key Points

• The short interest in the Morgan Stanley Direct Lending Fund (NYSE: MSDL) increased by 40.3% in August, totaling 390,100 shares as of August 31, indicating heightened bearish sentiment.
• Insiders, including CEO Michael Jr. Occi, demonstrated confidence in the company by purchasing a significant amount of stock, with insiders acquiring a total of 57,907 shares valued at $1,025,013 over the last ninety days.
• The fund recently declared a quarterly dividend of $0.50 per share, resulting in a substantial annualized dividend yield of 11.5%, although it reflects a high dividend payout ratio of 103.63%.

Morgan Stanley Direct Lending Fund (NYSE:MSDL - Get Free Report) saw a large increase in short interest in August. As of August 31st, there was short interest totaling 390,100 shares, an increase of 40.3% from the August 15th total of 278,100 shares. Currently, 0.5% of the company's stock are sold short. Based on an average trading volume of 583,500 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 0.7 days. Based on an average trading volume of 583,500 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 0.7 days. Currently, 0.5% of the company's stock are sold short.

Insider Activity at Morgan Stanley Direct Lending Fund

In related news, Director Adam S. Metz acquired 28,248 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 13th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $17.67 per share, with a total value of $499,142.16. Following the acquisition, the director directly owned 28,248 shares in the company, valued at approximately $499,142.16. The trade was a ∞ increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CEO Michael Jr. Occi acquired 14,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 12th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $17.78 per share, with a total value of $248,920.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the chief executive officer owned 21,500 shares in the company, valued at $382,270. This represents a 186.67% increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders purchased 57,907 shares of company stock valued at $1,025,013 in the last 90 days. 0.21% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of Morgan Stanley Direct Lending Fund

Several hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. TT Capital Management LLC lifted its position in Morgan Stanley Direct Lending Fund by 19.6% in the 2nd quarter. TT Capital Management LLC now owns 237,762 shares of the company's stock valued at $4,451,000 after purchasing an additional 38,990 shares during the last quarter. Captrust Financial Advisors lifted its position in Morgan Stanley Direct Lending Fund by 1.8% in the 2nd quarter. Captrust Financial Advisors now owns 49,345 shares of the company's stock valued at $924,000 after purchasing an additional 880 shares during the last quarter. HRT Financial LP lifted its position in Morgan Stanley Direct Lending Fund by 123.0% in the 2nd quarter. HRT Financial LP now owns 176,399 shares of the company's stock valued at $3,302,000 after purchasing an additional 97,279 shares during the last quarter. Engineers Gate Manager LP bought a new stake in Morgan Stanley Direct Lending Fund in the 2nd quarter valued at about $257,000. Finally, BI Asset Management Fondsmaeglerselskab A S lifted its position in Morgan Stanley Direct Lending Fund by 33.4% in the 2nd quarter. BI Asset Management Fondsmaeglerselskab A S now owns 28,845 shares of the company's stock valued at $540,000 after purchasing an additional 7,221 shares during the last quarter.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have weighed in on MSDL. UBS Group raised their price objective on shares of Morgan Stanley Direct Lending Fund from $20.50 to $21.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Wednesday, July 16th. Zacks Research lowered shares of Morgan Stanley Direct Lending Fund from a "hold" rating to a "strong sell" rating in a report on Friday, August 22nd. Royal Bank Of Canada decreased their price objective on shares of Morgan Stanley Direct Lending Fund from $21.00 to $19.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, September 10th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price target on shares of Morgan Stanley Direct Lending Fund from $19.00 to $17.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, August 14th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, four have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Morgan Stanley Direct Lending Fund presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $19.30.

Morgan Stanley Direct Lending Fund Stock Performance

Shares of Morgan Stanley Direct Lending Fund stock traded up $0.17 during trading hours on Thursday, reaching $17.62. The company's stock had a trading volume of 1,061,845 shares, compared to its average volume of 590,952. The company's 50 day simple moving average is $18.36 and its 200 day simple moving average is $19.12. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.15, a quick ratio of 1.19 and a current ratio of 1.19. Morgan Stanley Direct Lending Fund has a one year low of $17.33 and a one year high of $21.75. The stock has a market cap of $1.53 billion, a P/E ratio of 9.13 and a beta of 0.33.

Morgan Stanley Direct Lending Fund (NYSE:MSDL - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 7th. The company reported $0.50 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.52 by ($0.02). Morgan Stanley Direct Lending Fund had a return on equity of 11.24% and a net margin of 42.65%.The business had revenue of $99.51 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $99.99 million. As a group, analysts expect that Morgan Stanley Direct Lending Fund will post 2.56 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Morgan Stanley Direct Lending Fund Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, October 24th. Investors of record on Tuesday, September 30th will be given a $0.50 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, September 30th. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 11.4%. Morgan Stanley Direct Lending Fund's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 103.63%.

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.