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 contrast the two businesses based on the strength of their profitability, institutional ownership, valuation, earnings, dividends, media sentiment, risk and analyst recommendations.

Which has more volatility and risk, PSBD or MSDL?

Palmer Square Capital BDC has a beta of 0.82, indicating that its share price is 18% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Morgan Stanley Direct Lending Fund has a beta of 0.34, indicating that its share price is 66% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Does the media prefer PSBD or MSDL?

In the previous week, Palmer Square Capital BDC's average media sentiment score of 0.00 equaled Morgan Stanley Direct Lending Fund'saverage media sentiment score.

Company	Overall Sentiment
Palmer Square Capital BDC	Neutral
Morgan Stanley Direct Lending Fund	Neutral

Do analysts rate PSBD or MSDL?

Palmer Square Capital BDC currently has a consensus target price of $14.13, indicating a potential downside of 0.53%. Morgan Stanley Direct Lending Fund has a consensus target price of $20.00, indicating a potential upside of 4.71%. Given Morgan Stanley Direct Lending Fund's higher probable upside, analysts clearly 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	0 Sell rating(s)	4 Hold rating(s)	1 Buy rating(s)	0 Strong Buy rating(s)	2.20

Is PSBD or MSDL more profitable?

Morgan Stanley Direct Lending Fund has a net margin of 47.65% compared to Palmer Square Capital BDC's net margin of 11.72%. Morgan Stanley Direct Lending Fund's return on equity of 11.80% beat Palmer Square Capital BDC's return on equity.

Company	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Palmer Square Capital BDC	11.72%	11.04%	4.18%
Morgan Stanley Direct Lending Fund	47.65%	11.80%	5.70%

Which has stronger earnings & 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	3.20	$47.67M	$0.50	28.40
Morgan Stanley Direct Lending Fund	$191.55M	8.77	$215.56M	$2.18	8.76

Do insiders & institutionals 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 insiders. Comparatively, 0.2% of Morgan Stanley Direct Lending Fund shares are owned by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that endowments, large money managers and hedge funds believe a stock will outperform the market over the long term.

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 10.1%. Morgan Stanley Direct Lending Fund pays an annual dividend of $2.00 per share and has a dividend yield of 10.5%. Palmer Square Capital BDC pays out 288.0% 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 91.7% 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.

Summary

Morgan Stanley Direct Lending Fund beats Palmer Square Capital BDC on 10 of the 16 factors compared between the two stocks.