Morgan Stanley Direct Lending (NYSE:MSDL) Sees Strong Trading Volume – Should You Buy?

Morgan Stanley Direct Lending (NYSE:MSDL) shares saw strong trading volume on Wednesday . 568,251 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, an increase of 208% from the previous session’s volume of 184,312 shares.The stock last traded at $20.35 and had previously closed at $19.96.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts recently issued reports on the company. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their target price on Morgan Stanley Direct Lending from $21.00 to $20.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, July 26th. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $22.00 target price on shares of Morgan Stanley Direct Lending in a research report on Friday, September 13th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their target price on Morgan Stanley Direct Lending from $22.00 to $20.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, July 29th. Finally, UBS Group downgraded Morgan Stanley Direct Lending from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $23.50 target price on the stock. in a research report on Thursday, July 18th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $21.42.

Morgan Stanley Direct Lending Trading Up 1.7 %

The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $19.96 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $20.03. The stock has a market cap of $1.80 billion and a price-to-earnings ratio of 7.96. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.99, a current ratio of 1.56 and a quick ratio of 1.56.

Morgan Stanley Direct Lending Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently declared a — dividend, which will be paid on Friday, January 24th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, December 31st will be given a dividend of $0.10 per share. This represents a yield of 10.1%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, December 31st. Morgan Stanley Direct Lending’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 78.43%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Morgan Stanley Direct Lending

A number of institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Confluence Investment Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Morgan Stanley Direct Lending in the third quarter valued at approximately $510,000. Fountainhead AM LLC acquired a new position in shares of Morgan Stanley Direct Lending in the third quarter valued at approximately $515,000. Raymond James & Associates boosted its stake in shares of Morgan Stanley Direct Lending by 377.5% in the third quarter. Raymond James & Associates now owns 123,822 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,449,000 after buying an additional 97,893 shares during the period. ASB Consultores LLC bought a new stake in shares of Morgan Stanley Direct Lending in the third quarter valued at approximately $1,589,000. Finally, Van ECK Associates Corp boosted its stake in shares of Morgan Stanley Direct Lending by 16.3% in the second quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 1,780,243 shares of the company’s stock valued at $38,898,000 after buying an additional 250,167 shares during the period.

Morgan Stanley Direct Lending Company Profile

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.