Morgan Stanley Direct Lending Fund (NYSE:MSDL) Short Interest Up 47.4% in August

Key Points

• Short interest in the Morgan Stanley Direct Lending Fund (MSDL) surged by 47.4% in August, reaching 278,100 shares.
• Insider transactions included Director Joan Binstock purchasing 5,659 shares and CEO Michael Jr. Occi acquiring 14,000 shares, both reflecting significant increases in their ownership stakes.
• The fund's quarterly dividend of $0.50 per share signifies an annual yield of 11.1%, with a reported dividend payout ratio of 103.63%.

Morgan Stanley Direct Lending Fund (NYSE:MSDL - Get Free Report) saw a large increase in short interest during the month of August. As of August 15th, there was short interest totaling 278,100 shares, an increase of 47.4% from the July 31st total of 188,700 shares. Approximately 0.3% of the shares of the stock are sold short. Based on an average trading volume of 550,800 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 0.5 days. Based on an average trading volume of 550,800 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 0.5 days. Approximately 0.3% of the shares of the stock are sold short.

Insider Activity at Morgan Stanley Direct Lending Fund

In related news, CEO Michael Jr. Occi purchased 14,000 shares of Morgan Stanley Direct Lending Fund stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 12th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $17.78 per share, for a total transaction of $248,920.00. Following the acquisition, the chief executive officer owned 21,500 shares in the company, valued at approximately $382,270. The trade was a 186.67% increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director Joan Binstock purchased 5,659 shares of Morgan Stanley Direct Lending Fund stock in a transaction on Monday, August 11th. The stock was bought at an average price of $17.68 per share, for a total transaction of $100,051.12. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director owned 39,251 shares in the company, valued at $693,957.68. The trade was a 16.85% increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have purchased 57,907 shares of company stock valued at $1,025,013. 0.21% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of Morgan Stanley Direct Lending Fund

Large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Ameritas Advisory Services LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Morgan Stanley Direct Lending Fund in the 2nd quarter valued at $41,000. Allworth Financial LP boosted its holdings in shares of Morgan Stanley Direct Lending Fund by 62.3% in the 2nd quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 2,606 shares of the company's stock valued at $49,000 after acquiring an additional 1,000 shares during the last quarter. Comerica Bank boosted its holdings in shares of Morgan Stanley Direct Lending Fund by 100.0% in the 4th quarter. Comerica Bank now owns 2,568 shares of the company's stock valued at $53,000 after acquiring an additional 1,284 shares during the last quarter. Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Morgan Stanley Direct Lending Fund by 225.0% in the 2nd quarter. Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC now owns 3,250 shares of the company's stock valued at $61,000 after acquiring an additional 2,250 shares during the last quarter. Finally, AdvisorNet Financial Inc purchased a new stake in shares of Morgan Stanley Direct Lending Fund in the 1st quarter valued at $66,000.

Morgan Stanley Direct Lending Fund Stock Performance

Morgan Stanley Direct Lending Fund stock traded down $0.03 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $17.83. 107,387 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 581,249. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.15, a current ratio of 1.19 and a quick ratio of 1.19. Morgan Stanley Direct Lending Fund has a fifty-two week low of $17.37 and a fifty-two week high of $21.75. The company has a market capitalization of $1.55 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.24 and a beta of 0.33. The firm's fifty day moving average is $18.48 and its two-hundred day moving average is $19.21.

Morgan Stanley Direct Lending Fund (NYSE:MSDL - Get Free Report) last issued 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 net margin of 42.65% and a return on equity of 11.24%. The company had revenue of $99.51 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $99.99 million. On average, equities research analysts expect that Morgan Stanley Direct Lending Fund will post 2.56 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Morgan Stanley Direct Lending Fund Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, October 24th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, September 30th will be paid a dividend of $0.50 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, September 30th. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 11.2%. Morgan Stanley Direct Lending Fund's dividend payout ratio is presently 103.63%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

MSDL has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their target price on Morgan Stanley Direct Lending Fund from $19.00 to $17.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, August 14th. UBS Group boosted their price objective on shares of Morgan Stanley Direct Lending Fund from $20.50 to $21.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 16th. Zacks Research cut shares of Morgan Stanley Direct Lending Fund from a "hold" rating to a "strong sell" rating in a research report on Friday, August 22nd. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada lowered their price target on shares of Morgan Stanley Direct Lending Fund from $21.00 to $19.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday. 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.com, Morgan Stanley Direct Lending Fund has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $19.30.

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.