Morgan Stanley Direct Lending Fund (NYSE:MSDL) Given New $14.00 Price Target at Wells Fargo & Company

Morgan Stanley Direct Lending Fund (NYSE:MSDL) had its target price decreased by Wells Fargo & Company from $16.00 to $14.00 in a note issued to investors on Monday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage presently has an “equal weight” rating on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company‘s price objective suggests a potential downside of 4.96% from the stock’s current price.

A number of other equities research analysts have also issued reports on the company. Royal Bank Of Canada reissued a “sector perform” rating and set a $18.00 price target (down from $19.00) on shares of Morgan Stanley Direct Lending Fund in a research note on Wednesday, November 26th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on Morgan Stanley Direct Lending Fund from $16.00 to $16.50 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, November 10th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reduced their price target on shares of Morgan Stanley Direct Lending Fund from $18.50 to $16.50 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday. Finally, Zacks Research upgraded shares of Morgan Stanley Direct Lending Fund from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 12th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and six have given a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $16.92.

Morgan Stanley Direct Lending Fund Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:MSDL traded down $0.07 during mid-day trading on Monday, reaching $14.73. The stock had a trading volume of 301,061 shares, compared to its average volume of 856,318. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $16.15 and its 200 day moving average price is $16.81. Morgan Stanley Direct Lending Fund has a 1 year low of $14.25 and a 1 year high of $20.90. The company has a market cap of $1.26 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.54 and a beta of 0.35. The company has a current ratio of 45.48, a quick ratio of 45.48 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.19.

Morgan Stanley Direct Lending Fund (NYSE:MSDL) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 26th. The company reported $0.49 EPS for the quarter, hitting analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.49. The business had revenue of $49.57 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $97.30 million. Morgan Stanley Direct Lending Fund had a net margin of 30.73% and a return on equity of 9.88%. Research analysts expect that Morgan Stanley Direct Lending Fund will post 2.56 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. Engineers Gate Manager LP purchased a new stake in Morgan Stanley Direct Lending Fund in the second quarter valued at $257,000. HRT Financial LP lifted its holdings in shares of Morgan Stanley Direct Lending Fund by 123.0% in the 2nd quarter. HRT Financial LP now owns 176,399 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,302,000 after buying an additional 97,279 shares during the period. Captrust Financial Advisors boosted its stake in shares of Morgan Stanley Direct Lending Fund by 1.8% in the second quarter. Captrust Financial Advisors now owns 49,345 shares of the company’s stock worth $924,000 after buying an additional 880 shares during the last quarter. US Bancorp DE grew its holdings in Morgan Stanley Direct Lending Fund by 61.9% during the third quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 3,707 shares of the company’s stock worth $60,000 after acquiring an additional 1,417 shares during the period. Finally, Franklin Resources Inc. raised its position in Morgan Stanley Direct Lending Fund by 7.0% during the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 374,761 shares of the company’s stock valued at $6,026,000 after acquiring an additional 24,637 shares in the last quarter.

About Morgan Stanley Direct Lending Fund

Morgan Stanley Direct Lending Fund (NYSE: MSDL) is a closed-end management investment company that seeks to provide investors with attractive current income and the potential for capital appreciation. The fund primarily invests in senior secured loans and other debt instruments issued by middle-market companies. By focusing on floating-rate structures, it aims to offer a measure of protection against rising interest rates while generating regular cash distributions.

The fund’s investment strategy centers on building a diversified portfolio of direct lending opportunities across a broad range of industries, including healthcare, business services, and industrials.