Morgan Stanley Direct Lending (NYSE:MSDL) Given New $20.50 Price Target at UBS Group

Morgan Stanley Direct Lending (NYSE:MSDL) had its target price trimmed by UBS Group from $21.00 to $20.50 in a research note published on Thursday morning,Benzinga reports. The firm currently has a neutral rating on the stock.

Several other brokerages also recently issued reports on MSDL. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods decreased their price target on Morgan Stanley Direct Lending from $21.00 to $20.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, April 8th. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $22.00 target price on shares of Morgan Stanley Direct Lending in a research note on Tuesday, March 4th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price target on shares of Morgan Stanley Direct Lending from $21.00 to $20.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, March 3rd. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $20.50.

Morgan Stanley Direct Lending Stock Up 0.9 %

Shares of NYSE MSDL opened at $19.27 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.99, a current ratio of 1.56 and a quick ratio of 1.56. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $20.05 and a 200-day moving average price of $20.43. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.71 billion, a P/E ratio of 7.56 and a beta of 0.44. Morgan Stanley Direct Lending has a 1 year low of $17.59 and a 1 year high of $24.18.

Morgan Stanley Direct Lending (NYSE:MSDL) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 27th. The company reported $0.57 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.63 by ($0.06). The company had revenue of $103.00 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $107.02 million. Morgan Stanley Direct Lending had a net margin of 54.89% and a return on equity of 12.69%. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Morgan Stanley Direct Lending will post 2.56 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Morgan Stanley Direct Lending Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, April 25th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 31st will be paid a $0.50 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 31st. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 10.38%. Morgan Stanley Direct Lending’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 82.30%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Morgan Stanley Direct Lending

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Renaissance Technologies LLC increased its holdings in Morgan Stanley Direct Lending by 1,987.0% during the fourth quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 352,700 shares of the company’s stock worth $7,287,000 after buying an additional 335,800 shares during the last quarter. Naviter Wealth LLC bought a new position in shares of Morgan Stanley Direct Lending during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $3,434,000. Franklin Resources Inc. increased its stake in shares of Morgan Stanley Direct Lending by 207.9% during the 4th quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 237,754 shares of the company’s stock worth $4,912,000 after purchasing an additional 160,536 shares during the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Morgan Stanley Direct Lending during the 4th quarter worth approximately $3,051,000. Finally, Sfmg LLC bought a new stake in shares of Morgan Stanley Direct Lending in the 4th quarter worth approximately $2,864,000.

About Morgan Stanley Direct Lending

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.