Morgan Stanley Direct Lending Fund (NYSE:MSDL) Price Target Lowered to $16.00 at JPMorgan Chase & Co.

Morgan Stanley Direct Lending Fund (NYSE:MSDL) had its price objective decreased by JPMorgan Chase & Co. from $18.00 to $16.00 in a research report sent to investors on Wednesday morning,Benzinga reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. currently has a neutral rating on the stock.

A number of other research firms have also weighed in on MSDL. Zacks Research lowered shares of Morgan Stanley Direct Lending Fund from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a report on Friday, August 22nd. UBS Group raised their price target on shares of Morgan Stanley Direct Lending Fund from $20.50 to $21.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 16th. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price target on shares of Morgan Stanley Direct Lending Fund from $19.00 to $17.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, August 14th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada lowered their price target on shares of Morgan Stanley Direct Lending Fund from $21.00 to $19.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, September 10th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, four have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $18.60.

Morgan Stanley Direct Lending Fund Stock Performance

Shares of MSDL stock opened at $16.31 on Wednesday. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $17.71 and its 200-day simple moving average is $18.84. Morgan Stanley Direct Lending Fund has a 52 week low of $15.70 and a 52 week high of $21.75. The company has a current ratio of 1.19, a quick ratio of 1.19 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.15. The company has a market cap of $1.42 billion, a PE ratio of 8.45 and a beta of 0.25.

Morgan Stanley Direct Lending Fund (NYSE:MSDL) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 7th. The company reported $0.50 earnings per share 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 analyst estimates 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, equities research analysts anticipate that Morgan Stanley Direct Lending Fund will post 2.56 EPS for the current year.

Morgan Stanley Direct Lending Fund Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, October 24th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, September 30th will be issued a $0.50 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, September 30th. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 12.3%. Morgan Stanley Direct Lending Fund’s payout ratio is 103.63%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Morgan Stanley Direct Lending Fund

In other Morgan Stanley Direct Lending Fund news, Director David N. Miller purchased 10,000 shares of the firm’s 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 acquisition, the director owned 17,168 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $303,701.92. This represents a 139.51% increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director Adam S. Metz purchased 28,248 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 13th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $17.67 per share, with a total value of $499,142.16. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director directly owned 28,248 shares in the company, valued at approximately $499,142.16. This trade represents a ? increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders acquired 57,907 shares of company stock valued at $1,025,013. Corporate insiders own 0.21% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Morgan Stanley Direct Lending Fund

Hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc. lifted its position in Morgan Stanley Direct Lending Fund by 313.9% in the 1st quarter. Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc. now owns 88,678 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,770,000 after purchasing an additional 67,251 shares during the last quarter. Shikiar Asset Management Inc. lifted its position in Morgan Stanley Direct Lending Fund by 101.8% in the 1st quarter. Shikiar Asset Management Inc. now owns 173,850 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,470,000 after purchasing an additional 87,700 shares during the last quarter. Bank of America Corp DE lifted its position in Morgan Stanley Direct Lending Fund by 1,028.6% in the 4th quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 10,857 shares of the company’s stock valued at $224,000 after purchasing an additional 9,895 shares during the last quarter. Two Sigma Advisers LP bought a new stake in Morgan Stanley Direct Lending Fund in the 4th quarter valued at about $494,000. Finally, Squarepoint Ops LLC bought a new stake in Morgan Stanley Direct Lending Fund in the 4th quarter valued at about $229,000.

Morgan Stanley Direct Lending Fund 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.