Morgan Stanley Direct Lending (NYSE:MSDL) Issues Earnings Results

Morgan Stanley Direct Lending (NYSE:MSDL) announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday. The company reported $0.63 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, hitting analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.63, Zacks reports. The business had revenue of $99.10 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $98.65 million. Morgan Stanley Direct Lending had a net margin of 62.81% and a return on equity of 13.08%.

Morgan Stanley Direct Lending Price Performance

Shares of MSDL stock traded down $0.96 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $22.36. 24,977 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 129,854. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.99 billion and a PE ratio of 7.17. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $21.62. Morgan Stanley Direct Lending has a 52-week low of $19.05 and a 52-week high of $23.33. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.87, a quick ratio of 1.26 and a current ratio of 1.26.

Morgan Stanley Direct Lending Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently announced a — dividend, which will be paid on Friday, January 24th. Shareholders of record on Monday, November 4th will be issued a dividend of $0.10 per share. This represents a yield of 10.1%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, November 4th. Morgan Stanley Direct Lending’s payout ratio is 63.90%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on MSDL shares. Raymond James started coverage on shares of Morgan Stanley Direct Lending in a report on Tuesday, February 20th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $22.00 price target on the stock. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $21.00 target price on shares of Morgan Stanley Direct Lending in a research note on Monday, March 4th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on shares of Morgan Stanley Direct Lending from $20.50 to $21.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, April 12th. Wells Fargo & Company started coverage on shares of Morgan Stanley Direct Lending in a research note on Tuesday, February 20th. They set an “equal weight” rating and a $21.00 target price on the stock. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods started coverage on shares of Morgan Stanley Direct Lending in a research note on Tuesday, February 20th. They set a “market perform” rating and a $21.00 target price on the stock. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Morgan Stanley Direct Lending currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $21.58.

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.