Morgan Stanley Direct Lending Fund (NYSE:MSDL) Given New $14.00 Price Target at Royal Bank Of Canada

Morgan Stanley Direct Lending Fund (NYSE:MSDL) had its target price lowered by Royal Bank Of Canada from $16.00 to $14.00 in a research note issued to investors on Wednesday,Benzinga reports. The firm currently has a sector perform rating on the stock.

Several other brokerages have also commented on MSDL. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods dropped their price target on shares of Morgan Stanley Direct Lending Fund from $16.00 to $15.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a research report on Monday. UBS Group upgraded shares of Morgan Stanley Direct Lending Fund from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and decreased their price target for the company from $15.50 to $14.50 in a report on Tuesday. Finally, Raymond James Financial set a $15.00 price objective on shares of Morgan Stanley Direct Lending Fund in a research note on Thursday, October 22nd. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $14.50.

Morgan Stanley Direct Lending Fund Stock Down 0.6%

MSDL opened at $13.92 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.21, a current ratio of 1.23 and a quick ratio of 1.71. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.16 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 7.41 and a beta of 0.56. The business has a 50-day moving average of $13.99 and a two-hundred day moving average of $14.88. Morgan Stanley Direct Lending Fund has a 12 month low of $12.71 and a 12 month high of $17.91.

Morgan Stanley Direct Lending Fund Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, January 22nd. Stockholders of record on Thursday, December 31st will be paid a $0.45 dividend. This represents a $1.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 12.9%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, December 31st. Morgan Stanley Direct Lending Fund’s payout ratio is currently 3,600.00%.

Institutional Trading of Morgan Stanley Direct Lending Fund

A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of MSDL. Lunate Capital Ltd raised its holdings in Morgan Stanley Direct Lending Fund by 19.5% in the third quarter. Lunate Capital Ltd now owns 1,319,110 shares of the company’s stock valued at $17,979,000 after buying an additional 215,296 shares during the period. Russell Investments Group Ltd. grew its stake in Morgan Stanley Direct Lending Fund by 2.9% during the third quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 1,092,790 shares of the company’s stock worth $14,895,000 after buying an additional 30,988 shares during the period. Rivernorth Capital Management LLC grew its stake in Morgan Stanley Direct Lending Fund by 37.6% during the first quarter. Rivernorth Capital Management LLC now owns 1,052,351 shares of the company’s stock worth $14,691,000 after buying an additional 287,808 shares during the period. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. grew its stake in Morgan Stanley Direct Lending Fund by 1.6% during the third quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. now owns 626,116 shares of the company’s stock worth $8,534,000 after buying an additional 10,000 shares during the period. Finally, TT Capital Management LLC increased its position in shares of Morgan Stanley Direct Lending Fund by 19.7% in the third quarter. TT Capital Management LLC now owns 411,059 shares of the company’s stock worth $5,603,000 after acquiring an additional 67,742 shares in the last quarter.

About Morgan Stanley Direct Lending Fund

Morgan Stanley Direct Lending Fund is a business development company that provides financing to U.S. middle-market businesses. Its investment strategy focuses primarily on privately originated senior secured loans, including first-lien and unitranche debt, and may include other debt or equity investments. The fund is externally managed by Morgan Stanley Investment Management, drawing on Morgan Stanley’s private credit and direct lending capabilities. It began operations in 2021 and became publicly traded on the New York Stock Exchange in 2024.