Wells Fargo & Company Lowers Morgan Stanley Direct Lending (NYSE:MSDL) Price Target to $19.00

Morgan Stanley Direct Lending (NYSE:MSDL - Free Report) had its price objective reduced by Wells Fargo & Company from $20.00 to $19.00 in a report issued on Monday,Benzinga reports. They currently have an equal weight rating on the stock.

Other research analysts have also issued research reports about the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their target price on shares of Morgan Stanley Direct Lending from $20.50 to $19.50 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, April 24th. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated an "outperform" rating and set a $22.00 price objective on shares of Morgan Stanley Direct Lending in a research report on Tuesday, March 4th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods dropped their price target on Morgan Stanley Direct Lending from $21.00 to $20.00 and set a "market perform" rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, April 8th. Finally, UBS Group reduced their price objective on Morgan Stanley Direct Lending from $21.00 to $20.50 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, April 17th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has issued a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Morgan Stanley Direct Lending currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $20.20.

Morgan Stanley Direct Lending Trading Up 0.8 %

Shares of MSDL traded up $0.16 during trading hours on Monday, hitting $19.40. 418,133 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 643,457. Morgan Stanley Direct Lending has a 1-year low of $17.59 and a 1-year high of $24.18. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.71 billion, a PE ratio of 7.61 and a beta of 0.44. The company has a current ratio of 1.56, a quick ratio of 1.56 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.99. The business has a fifty day moving average of $19.73 and a 200-day moving average of $20.38.

Morgan Stanley Direct Lending (NYSE:MSDL - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 27th. The company reported $0.57 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.63 by ($0.06). Morgan Stanley Direct Lending had a return on equity of 12.69% and a net margin of 54.89%. The company had revenue of $103.00 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $107.02 million. Analysts expect that Morgan Stanley Direct Lending will post 2.56 EPS for the current year.

Morgan Stanley Direct Lending Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, April 25th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 31st were issued a $0.50 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 31st. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 10.31%. Morgan Stanley Direct Lending's payout ratio is currently 82.30%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Morgan Stanley Direct Lending

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Legacy Capital Wealth Partners LLC bought a new position in Morgan Stanley Direct Lending in the 1st quarter valued at about $1,494,000. Generali Investments CEE investicni spolecnost a.s. purchased a new position in shares of Morgan Stanley Direct Lending during the first quarter valued at approximately $438,000. D.A. Davidson & CO. bought a new stake in Morgan Stanley Direct Lending during the first quarter worth $489,000. Naviter Wealth LLC raised its position in Morgan Stanley Direct Lending by 7.9% in the 1st quarter. Naviter Wealth LLC now owns 174,314 shares of the company's stock valued at $3,603,000 after buying an additional 12,753 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. lifted its stake in Morgan Stanley Direct Lending by 96.1% during the 1st quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. now owns 200,292 shares of the company's stock valued at $3,998,000 after acquiring an additional 98,174 shares in the last quarter.

About Morgan Stanley Direct Lending

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.