Morgan Stanley Direct Lending (NYSE:MSDL) Posts Earnings Results, Hits Estimates

Morgan Stanley Direct Lending (NYSE:MSDL) posted its 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 company had revenue of $99.10 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations 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 Stock Down 4.1 %

Shares of Morgan Stanley Direct Lending stock traded down $0.96 on Friday, reaching $22.36. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 26,047 shares, compared to its average volume of 129,869. The company has a market cap of $1.99 billion and a P/E ratio of 7.17. The company’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 quick ratio of 1.26, a current ratio of 1.26 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.87.

Morgan Stanley Direct Lending Cuts Dividend

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on MSDL shares. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods started coverage on Morgan Stanley Direct Lending in a report on Tuesday, February 20th. They set a “market perform” rating and a $21.00 price target for the company. UBS Group assumed coverage on shares of Morgan Stanley Direct Lending in a research note on Tuesday, February 20th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $23.50 price objective on the stock. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $21.00 target price on shares of Morgan Stanley Direct Lending in a research report on Monday, March 4th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on Morgan Stanley Direct Lending from $20.50 to $21.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, April 12th. Finally, Raymond James started coverage on Morgan Stanley Direct Lending in a research note on Tuesday, February 20th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $22.00 price objective for the company. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $21.58.

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.