Morgan Stanley Direct Lending Fund (MSDL) Stock Price, News & Analysis

Company Overview

Morgan Stanley Direct Lending Fund (NYSE: MSDL) is a closed-end management investment company that seeks to provide investors with attractive current income and the potential for capital appreciation. The fund primarily invests in senior secured loans and other debt instruments issued by middle-market companies. By focusing on floating-rate structures, it aims to offer a measure of protection against rising interest rates while generating regular cash distributions.

The fund’s investment strategy centers on building a diversified portfolio of direct lending opportunities across a broad range of industries, including healthcare, business services, and industrials. These direct loans are typically negotiated bilaterally between the fund and the borrower, allowing for tailored covenants and structuring features designed to mitigate credit risk. In addition to senior debt, the fund may selectively allocate to second-lien loans, mezzanine debt, and structured credit instruments to enhance yield potential.

Since commencing operations in early 2021, Morgan Stanley Direct Lending Fund has leveraged the global research and credit analysis capabilities of Morgan Stanley Investment Management. The fund’s portfolio management team draws on decades of experience in direct lending and private credit to identify issuers with stable cash flows and strong collateral coverage. While the bulk of investments are focused on U.S.-based borrowers, the fund may also pursue opportunities in select developed markets where credit fundamentals align with its risk-return objectives.

The fund is managed by Morgan Stanley Investment Management’s Credit Investing group, which oversees underwriting, ongoing portfolio monitoring, and risk management. Through a combination of rigorous due diligence and active engagement with portfolio companies, the team seeks to preserve capital and support favorable downside protection. Investors in MSDL gain access to a segment of the credit markets that has traditionally been available only to large institutional lenders.

Key Stats

• Today's Range: $15.23 to $15.45
• 50-Day Range: $13.85 to $15.69
• 52-Week Range: $13.66 to $19.94
• Volume: 496,229 shs
• Average Volume: 586,823 shs
• Market Capitalization: $1.29 billion
• P/E Ratio: 15.10
• Dividend Yield: 11.80%
• Price Target: $15.54
• Consensus Rating: Hold

Morgan Stanley Direct Lending Fund Stock Analysis - MarketRank™

Morgan Stanley Direct Lending Fund scored higher than 68% of companies evaluated by MarketBeat, and ranked 477th out of 879 stocks in the finance sector. Scores are calculated by averaging available category scores, with extra weight given to analysis and valuation.

Analyst's Opinion

• Score: 2.2 / 5
• Analyst Rating: Hold

Consensus Rating

Morgan Stanley Direct Lending Fund has received a consensus rating of Hold. The company's average rating score is 2.14, and is based on no strong buy ratings, 1 buy rating, 6 hold ratings, and no sell ratings.

Upside/Downside

The consensus price target for Morgan Stanley Direct Lending Fund is close to its current price, suggesting limited near-term upside or downside.

Amount of Analyst Coverage

Morgan Stanley Direct Lending Fund has been the subject of 6 research reports in the past 90 days, demonstrating strong analyst interest in this stock.

Earnings and Valuation

• Score: 1.9 / 5
• Proj. Earnings Growth: -0.54%

Earnings Growth

Earnings for Morgan Stanley Direct Lending Fund are expected to decrease by -0.54% in the coming year, from $1.86 to $1.85 per share.

Price to Earnings Ratio vs. the Market

The P/E ratio of Morgan Stanley Direct Lending Fund is 15.10, which means that it is trading at a less expensive P/E ratio than the market average P/E ratio of about 39.06.

Price to Earnings Ratio vs. Sector

The P/E ratio of Morgan Stanley Direct Lending Fund is 15.10, which means that it is trading at a less expensive P/E ratio than the Finance sector average P/E ratio of about 24.00.

Price to Book Value per Share Ratio

Morgan Stanley Direct Lending Fund has a P/B Ratio of 0.76. P/B Ratios below 1 indicate that a company could be undervalued with respect to its assets and liabilities.

Short Interest

• Score: 3.0 / 5
• Short Interest Level: Healthy

Percentage of Shares Shorted

4.03% of the float of Morgan Stanley Direct Lending Fund has been sold short.

Short Interest Ratio / Days to Cover

Morgan Stanley Direct Lending Fund has a short interest ratio ("days to cover") of 5.21.

Change versus previous month

Short interest in Morgan Stanley Direct Lending Fund has recently decreased by 1.17%, indicating that investor sentiment is improving.

Dividend

• Score: 1.7 / 5
• Dividend Strength: Weak

Dividend Leadership

Morgan Stanley Direct Lending Fund is a leading dividend payer. It pays a dividend yield of 11.93%, putting its dividend yield in the top 25% of dividend-paying stocks.

Dividend Growth

Morgan Stanley Direct Lending Fund does not have a long track record of dividend growth.

Dividend Coverage

The dividend payout ratio of Morgan Stanley Direct Lending Fund is 178.22%. Payout ratios above 75% are not desirable because they may not be sustainable.

Dividend Sustainability

Based on EPS estimates, Morgan Stanley Direct Lending Fund will have a dividend payout ratio of 97.30% in the coming year. This indicates that Morgan Stanley Direct Lending Fund may not be able to sustain their current dividend.

News and Social Media

• Score: 1.7 / 5
• News Sentiment: N/A

News Sentiment

Morgan Stanley Direct Lending Fund has a news sentiment score of 0.65. This score is calculated as an average of sentiment of articles about the company over the last seven days and ranges from 2 (good news) to -2 (bad news). This news sentiment score is similar to the average news sentiment of Finance companies.

News Coverage This Week

MarketBeat has tracked 1 news article for Morgan Stanley Direct Lending Fund this week, compared to 2 articles on an average week.

Search Interest

Only 2 people have searched for MSDL on MarketBeat in the last 30 days. This is a decrease of 0% compared to the previous 30 days.

MarketBeat Follows

Only 3 people have added Morgan Stanley Direct Lending Fund to their MarketBeat watchlist in the last 30 days. This is a decrease of 0% compared to the previous 30 days.

Company Ownership

• Score: 3.6 / 5
• Insider Trading: Acquiring Shares

Cluster Insider Buying

2 insiders have purchased shares of Morgan Stanley Direct Lending Fund in the last three months. Multiple insiders buying is a strong bullish signal.

Net Insider Buying

Over the last three months, insiders have purchased a net $178,540.00 in company stock, which represents 0.0138% of the company's market cap.

Insider Buying vs. Insider Selling

In the past three months, Morgan Stanley Direct Lending Fund insiders have bought more of their company's stock than they have sold. Specifically, they have bought $178,540.00 in company stock and sold $0.00 in company stock.

Percentage Held by Insiders

0.31% of the stock of Morgan Stanley Direct Lending Fund is held by insiders.

Percentage Held by Institutions

Morgan Stanley Direct Lending Fund has minimal institutional ownership at this time.

Company Calendar

• Record date for 4/24 Dividend: 3/31/2026
• Ex-Dividend for 4/24 Dividend: 3/31/2026
• Dividend Payable: 4/24/2026
• Last Earnings: 5/07/2026
• Today: 5/28/2026
• Record date for 7/24 Dividend: 6/30/2026
• Ex-Dividend for 7/24 Dividend: 6/30/2026
• Dividend Payable: 7/24/2026
• Next Earnings (Estimated): 8/06/2026
• Fiscal Year End: 12/31/2026

Industry, Sector and Symbol

• Stock Exchange: NYSE
• Sector: Finance
• Industry: FIN - SBIC&COMMRL
• Sub-Industry: N/A
• Current Symbol: NYSE:MSDL
• Previous Symbol: NYSE:MSDL
• CIK: 1782524
• Web: www.msdl.com
• Phone: 212-761-4000
• Fax: N/A
• Employees: N/A
• Year Founded: N/A

Price Target and Rating

• Average Price Target for Morgan Stanley Direct Lending Fund: $15.54
• High Price Target: $17.00
• Low Price Target: $14.00
• Potential Upside/Downside: +1.9%
• Consensus Rating: Hold
• Rating Score (0-4): 2.14
• Research Coverage: 7 Analysts

Profitability

• EPS (Trailing Twelve Months): $1.01
• Trailing P/E Ratio: 15.10
• Forward P/E Ratio: 8.20
• P/E Growth: N/A
• Net Income: $122.09 million
• Net Margins: 22.84%
• Pretax Margin: 45.03%
• Return on Equity: 9.73%
• Return on Assets: 4.37%

Debt

• Debt-to-Equity Ratio: 1.21
• Current Ratio: 1.61
• Quick Ratio: 1.61

Sales & Book Value

• Annual Sales: $99.96 million
• Price / Sales: 12.93
• Cash Flow: $2.66 per share
• Price / Cash Flow: 5.74
• Book Value: $19.94 per share
• Price / Book: 0.76

Miscellaneous

• Outstanding Shares: 84,765,000
• Free Float: 84,502,000
• Market Cap: $1.29 billion
• Optionable: Optionable
• Beta: 0.56