Morgan Stanley Direct Lending Fund (NYSE:MSDL) Shares Down 0.6% - Time to Sell?

Key Points

• Morgan Stanley Direct Lending Fund's stock price decreased by 0.6% on Tuesday, with recent trading around $17.45, while trading volume increased significantly by 92% from the average.
• Analysts have mixed views on the stock, with UBS raising its target price to $21.00, while Zacks Research downgraded it to a "strong sell" rating, resulting in a consensus rating of "Hold" with an average target of $19.30.
• The company recently declared a quarterly dividend of $0.50 per share, representing an annualized yield of 11.5%, although the payout ratio currently exceeds 100% at 103.63%.

Morgan Stanley Direct Lending Fund (NYSE:MSDL - Get Free Report)'s stock price traded down 0.6% during trading on Tuesday . The stock traded as low as $17.33 and last traded at $17.45. 1,136,878 shares changed hands during trading, an increase of 92% from the average session volume of 592,972 shares. The stock had previously closed at $17.55.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have commented on the company. UBS Group boosted 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 note on Wednesday, July 16th. Royal Bank Of Canada dropped their price target on 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, September 10th. Zacks Research lowered Morgan Stanley Direct Lending Fund from a "hold" rating to a "strong sell" rating in a research report on Friday, August 22nd. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price target on Morgan Stanley Direct Lending Fund from $19.00 to $17.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, August 14th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, four have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $19.30.

Morgan Stanley Direct Lending Fund Stock Performance

The firm has a market capitalization of $1.52 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.08 and a beta of 0.33. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.15, a current ratio of 1.19 and a quick ratio of 1.19. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $18.30 and a 200-day moving average price of $19.09.

Morgan Stanley Direct Lending Fund (NYSE:MSDL - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 7th. The company reported $0.50 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate 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 during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $99.99 million. As a group, sell-side 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 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 11.4%. Morgan Stanley Direct Lending Fund's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 103.63%.

Insider Activity at Morgan Stanley Direct Lending Fund

In related news, Director Joan Binstock acquired 5,659 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 11th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $17.68 per share, for a total transaction of $100,051.12. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 39,251 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $693,957.68. This trade represents a 16.85% increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, Director David N. Miller bought 10,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 12th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $17.69 per share, with a total value of $176,900.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director directly owned 17,168 shares in the company, valued at $303,701.92. This trade represents a 139.51% increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders have purchased a total of 57,907 shares of company stock valued at $1,025,013 in the last 90 days. Insiders own 0.21% of the company's stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Morgan Stanley Direct Lending Fund

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Jane Street Group LLC boosted its holdings in Morgan Stanley Direct Lending Fund by 175.6% during the fourth quarter. Jane Street Group LLC now owns 41,146 shares of the company's stock worth $850,000 after buying an additional 26,216 shares in the last quarter. Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc. boosted its holdings in Morgan Stanley Direct Lending Fund by 313.9% during the first quarter. Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc. now owns 88,678 shares of the company's stock worth $1,770,000 after buying an additional 67,251 shares in the last quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets boosted its stake in Morgan Stanley Direct Lending Fund by 515.5% in the 4th quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 6,771 shares of the company's stock worth $140,000 after purchasing an additional 5,671 shares during the period. Shikiar Asset Management Inc. boosted its stake in Morgan Stanley Direct Lending Fund by 101.8% in the 1st quarter. Shikiar Asset Management Inc. now owns 173,850 shares of the company's stock worth $3,470,000 after purchasing an additional 87,700 shares during the period. Finally, Bank of America Corp DE boosted its stake in Morgan Stanley Direct Lending Fund by 1,028.6% in the 4th quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 10,857 shares of the company's stock worth $224,000 after purchasing an additional 9,895 shares during the period.

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.