Morgan Stanley Direct Lending Fund (NYSE:MSDL) Price Target Lowered to $17.00 at Wells Fargo & Company

Key Points

• Wells Fargo & Company has reduced its target price for the Morgan Stanley Direct Lending Fund from $19.00 to $17.00, indicating a potential 4.44% downside from the stock's previous close.
• Analysts' consensus rating for the fund is currently "Hold" with an average target price of $19.70, reflecting mixed views from various equities research firms.
• Recent insider trading includes a director acquiring 10,000 shares at an average price of $19.43, indicating insider confidence despite the stock's price decline.

Morgan Stanley Direct Lending Fund (NYSE:MSDL - Free Report) had its target price decreased by Wells Fargo & Company from $19.00 to $17.00 in a research note issued to investors on Thursday,Benzinga reports. Wells Fargo & Company currently has an equal weight rating on the stock.

Other equities analysts have also issued reports about the company. UBS Group increased their price target on Morgan Stanley Direct Lending Fund from $20.50 to $21.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 16th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price target on Morgan Stanley Direct Lending Fund from $20.50 to $19.50 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, April 24th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada decreased their price target on Morgan Stanley Direct Lending Fund from $22.00 to $21.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, May 22nd. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has given a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $19.70.

Morgan Stanley Direct Lending Fund Price Performance

NYSE MSDL traded up $0.09 on Thursday, reaching $17.76. 664,185 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 778,214. The firm's fifty day simple moving average is $19.01 and its 200 day simple moving average is $19.57. The company has a quick ratio of 1.19, a current ratio of 1.19 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.15. The company has a market cap of $1.56 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.20 and a beta of 0.34. Morgan Stanley Direct Lending Fund has a 12 month low of $17.37 and a 12 month high of $21.75.

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). The firm had revenue of $99.51 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $99.99 million. Morgan Stanley Direct Lending Fund had a net margin of 42.65% and a return on equity of 11.24%. As a group, research analysts predict that Morgan Stanley Direct Lending Fund will post 2.56 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Morgan Stanley Direct Lending Fund Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, October 24th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, September 30th will be paid a dividend of $0.50 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, September 30th. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 11.3%. Morgan Stanley Direct Lending Fund's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 103.63%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Morgan Stanley Direct Lending Fund

In related news, Director David N. Miller acquired 10,000 shares of Morgan Stanley Direct Lending Fund stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 12th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $17.69 per share, with a total value of $176,900.00. Following the purchase, the director directly owned 17,168 shares in the company, valued at $303,701.92. The trade was a 139.51% increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Michael Jr. Occi acquired 14,000 shares of Morgan Stanley Direct Lending Fund stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 12th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $17.78 per share, with a total value of $248,920.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the chief executive officer owned 21,500 shares in the company, valued at approximately $382,270. This represents a 186.67% increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders purchased 67,907 shares of company stock worth $1,219,313. 0.21% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Confluence Investment Management LLC raised its position in Morgan Stanley Direct Lending Fund by 3.0% during the first quarter. Confluence Investment Management LLC now owns 26,921 shares of the company's stock valued at $537,000 after buying an additional 779 shares during the period. Captrust Financial Advisors raised its holdings in shares of Morgan Stanley Direct Lending Fund by 1.8% during the second quarter. Captrust Financial Advisors now owns 49,345 shares of the company's stock worth $924,000 after acquiring an additional 880 shares in the last quarter. AdvisorNet Financial Inc raised its holdings in shares of Morgan Stanley Direct Lending Fund by 27.3% during the second quarter. AdvisorNet Financial Inc now owns 4,200 shares of the company's stock worth $79,000 after acquiring an additional 900 shares in the last quarter. Allworth Financial LP raised its holdings in shares of Morgan Stanley Direct Lending Fund by 62.3% during the second quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 2,606 shares of the company's stock worth $49,000 after acquiring an additional 1,000 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Ameriprise Financial Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Morgan Stanley Direct Lending Fund by 2.4% during the second quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 43,585 shares of the company's stock worth $761,000 after acquiring an additional 1,021 shares in the last quarter.

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.