Morgan Stanley Direct Lending (NYSE:MSDL) Announces Quarterly Earnings Results, Meets Estimates

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

Morgan Stanley Direct Lending Trading Down 4.1 %

Shares of NYSE:MSDL traded down $0.96 during trading on Friday, reaching $22.36. 24,977 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 129,854. The company has a market cap of $1.99 billion and a price-to-earnings ratio of 7.17. 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 has a 12 month low of $19.05 and a 12 month high of $23.33. The company’s 50-day moving average is $21.62.

Morgan Stanley Direct Lending Cuts Dividend

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms recently weighed in on MSDL. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods initiated coverage on shares of Morgan Stanley Direct Lending in a research note on Tuesday, February 20th. They issued a “market perform” rating and a $21.00 target price for the company. Royal Bank of Canada reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $21.00 price objective on shares of Morgan Stanley Direct Lending in a research report on Monday, March 4th. Wells Fargo & Company started coverage on shares of Morgan Stanley Direct Lending in a report on Tuesday, February 20th. They issued an “equal weight” rating and a $21.00 target price on the stock. Raymond James began coverage on Morgan Stanley Direct Lending in a report on Tuesday, February 20th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $22.00 price target for the company. Finally, UBS Group initiated coverage on 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. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Morgan Stanley Direct Lending presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average 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.