Palmer Square Capital BDC (PSBD) Competitors

Palmer Square Capital BDC (NYSE:PSBD) and Morgan Stanley Direct Lending Fund (NYSE:MSDL) are both small-cap finance companies, but which is the superior investment? We will compare the two businesses based on the strength of their institutional ownership, risk, analyst recommendations, media sentiment, dividends, profitability, valuation and earnings.

Is PSBD or MSDL more profitable?

Morgan Stanley Direct Lending Fund has a net margin of 42.65% compared to Palmer Square Capital BDC's net margin of 13.51%. Morgan Stanley Direct Lending Fund's return on equity of 11.24% beat Palmer Square Capital BDC's return on equity.

Company	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Palmer Square Capital BDC	13.51%	10.91%	4.15%
Morgan Stanley Direct Lending Fund	42.65%	11.24%	5.28%

Which has higher earnings and valuation, PSBD or MSDL?

Morgan Stanley Direct Lending Fund has higher revenue and earnings than Palmer Square Capital BDC. Morgan Stanley Direct Lending Fund is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Palmer Square Capital BDC, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Company	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Palmer Square Capital BDC	$143.51M	3.04	$47.67M	$0.56	24.29
Morgan Stanley Direct Lending Fund	$416.08M	3.71	$215.56M	$1.93	9.20

Do institutionals & insiders have more ownership in PSBD or MSDL?

6.5% of Palmer Square Capital BDC shares are owned by institutional investors. 1.0% of Palmer Square Capital BDC shares are owned by company insiders. Comparatively, 0.2% of Morgan Stanley Direct Lending Fund shares are owned by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, endowments and large money managers believe a stock is poised for long-term growth.

Does the media refer more to PSBD or MSDL?

In the previous week, Morgan Stanley Direct Lending Fund had 8 more articles in the media than Palmer Square Capital BDC. MarketBeat recorded 10 mentions for Morgan Stanley Direct Lending Fund and 2 mentions for Palmer Square Capital BDC. Palmer Square Capital BDC's average media sentiment score of 1.69 beat Morgan Stanley Direct Lending Fund's score of 0.08 indicating that Palmer Square Capital BDC is being referred to more favorably in the media.

Company	Very Positive	Positive	Neutral	Negative	Very Negative	Overall Sentiment
Palmer Square Capital BDC	2 Very Positive mention(s)	0 Positive mention(s)	0 Neutral mention(s)	0 Negative mention(s)	0 Very Negative mention(s)	Very Positive
Morgan Stanley Direct Lending Fund	2 Very Positive mention(s)	2 Positive mention(s)	3 Neutral mention(s)	0 Negative mention(s)	1 Very Negative mention(s)	Neutral

Which has more risk and volatility, PSBD or MSDL?

Palmer Square Capital BDC has a beta of 0.82, suggesting that its share price is 18% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Morgan Stanley Direct Lending Fund has a beta of 0.33, suggesting that its share price is 67% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Is PSBD or MSDL a better dividend stock?

Palmer Square Capital BDC pays an annual dividend of $1.44 per share and has a dividend yield of 10.6%. Morgan Stanley Direct Lending Fund pays an annual dividend of $2.00 per share and has a dividend yield of 11.3%. Palmer Square Capital BDC pays out 257.1% of its earnings in the form of a dividend, suggesting it may not have sufficient earnings to cover its dividend payment in the future. Morgan Stanley Direct Lending Fund pays out 103.6% of its earnings in the form of a dividend, suggesting it may not have sufficient earnings to cover its dividend payment in the future. Morgan Stanley Direct Lending Fund is clearly the better dividend stock, given its higher yield and lower payout ratio.

Do analysts rate PSBD or MSDL?

Palmer Square Capital BDC presently has a consensus target price of $14.38, suggesting a potential upside of 5.70%. Morgan Stanley Direct Lending Fund has a consensus target price of $19.30, suggesting a potential upside of 8.67%. Given Morgan Stanley Direct Lending Fund's higher probable upside, analysts plainly believe Morgan Stanley Direct Lending Fund is more favorable than Palmer Square Capital BDC.

Company	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Palmer Square Capital BDC	0 Sell rating(s)	2 Hold rating(s)	2 Buy rating(s)	0 Strong Buy rating(s)	2.50
Morgan Stanley Direct Lending Fund	1 Sell rating(s)	4 Hold rating(s)	1 Buy rating(s)	0 Strong Buy rating(s)	2.00

Summary

Morgan Stanley Direct Lending Fund beats Palmer Square Capital BDC on 11 of the 18 factors compared between the two stocks.