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

Morgan Stanley Direct Lending (NYSE:MSDL - Get Free Report) was the target of a large drop in short interest in May. As of May 15th, there was short interest totalling 142,900 shares, a drop of 18.0% from the April 30th total of 174,200 shares. Approximately 0.2% of the shares of the stock are short sold. Based on an average trading volume of 596,400 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 0.2 days.

Morgan Stanley Direct Lending Stock Down 0.7%

Shares of MSDL stock traded down $0.14 during trading on Wednesday, hitting $19.49. 348,707 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 586,189. The business's 50-day simple moving average is $19.34 and its 200 day simple moving average is $20.29. Morgan Stanley Direct Lending has a twelve month low of $17.59 and a twelve month high of $24.18. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.71 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 7.64 and a beta of 0.46. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.99, a quick ratio of 1.56 and a current ratio of 1.56.

Morgan Stanley Direct Lending (NYSE:MSDL - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, May 8th. The company reported $0.52 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.56 by ($0.04). Morgan Stanley Direct Lending had a net margin of 54.89% and a return on equity of 12.69%. The company had revenue of $101.50 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $102.86 million. As a group, analysts forecast that Morgan Stanley Direct Lending will post 2.56 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Morgan Stanley Direct Lending Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, July 25th. Investors of record on Monday, June 30th will be given a dividend of $0.50 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, June 30th. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 10.26%. Morgan Stanley Direct Lending's payout ratio is 91.74%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted its stake in Morgan Stanley Direct Lending by 334.4% in the fourth quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 125,416 shares of the company's stock valued at $2,591,000 after acquiring an additional 96,544 shares during the last quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. bought a new position in shares of Morgan Stanley Direct Lending during the 4th quarter valued at $511,000. Renaissance Technologies LLC lifted its stake in shares of Morgan Stanley Direct Lending by 1,987.0% in the 4th quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 352,700 shares of the company's stock valued at $7,287,000 after purchasing an additional 335,800 shares during the last quarter. Jane Street Group LLC boosted its holdings in Morgan Stanley Direct Lending by 175.6% in the fourth quarter. Jane Street Group LLC now owns 41,146 shares of the company's stock worth $850,000 after purchasing an additional 26,216 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Entropy Technologies LP acquired a new position in Morgan Stanley Direct Lending during the fourth quarter worth $392,000.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on MSDL shares. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods cut their target price on Morgan Stanley Direct Lending from $21.00 to $20.00 and set a "market perform" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, April 8th. Royal Bank of Canada decreased their target price on shares of Morgan Stanley Direct Lending from $22.00 to $21.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, May 22nd. UBS Group cut their price target on shares of Morgan Stanley Direct Lending from $21.00 to $20.50 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, April 17th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price objective on shares of Morgan Stanley Direct Lending from $20.50 to $19.50 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, April 24th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company cut their target price on shares of Morgan Stanley Direct Lending from $20.00 to $19.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, April 28th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $20.00.

Morgan Stanley Direct Lending 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.