Morgan Stanley Direct Lending (NYSE:MSDL) Hits New 1-Year Low – Time to Sell?

Morgan Stanley Direct Lending (NYSE:MSDL) reached a new 52-week low during mid-day trading on Friday . The company traded as low as $19.21 and last traded at $19.25, with a volume of 389501 shares. The stock had previously closed at $20.08.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have weighed in on MSDL shares. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $22.00 price objective on shares of Morgan Stanley Direct Lending in a research report on Tuesday, March 4th. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price objective on Morgan Stanley Direct Lending from $21.00 to $20.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, March 3rd. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $21.38.

Morgan Stanley Direct Lending Stock Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.99, a quick ratio of 1.56 and a current ratio of 1.56. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $20.54 and a 200 day moving average price of $20.52. The company has a market capitalization of $1.66 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 7.35 and a beta of 0.44.

Morgan Stanley Direct Lending (NYSE:MSDL) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, February 27th. The company reported $0.57 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.63 by ($0.06). Morgan Stanley Direct Lending had a return on equity of 12.69% and a net margin of 54.89%. The business had revenue of $103.00 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $107.02 million. Equities research analysts predict that Morgan Stanley Direct Lending will post 2.56 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Morgan Stanley Direct Lending Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, April 25th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 31st will be given a $0.50 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 31st. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 10.68%. Morgan Stanley Direct Lending’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 82.30%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Morgan Stanley Direct Lending

Large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Comerica Bank raised its holdings in shares of Morgan Stanley Direct Lending by 100.0% during the fourth quarter. Comerica Bank now owns 2,568 shares of the company’s stock valued at $53,000 after acquiring an additional 1,284 shares in the last quarter. RE Dickinson Investment Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Morgan Stanley Direct Lending in the 4th quarter worth approximately $84,000. BI Asset Management Fondsmaeglerselskab A S bought a new stake in shares of Morgan Stanley Direct Lending in the fourth quarter worth $103,000. BNP Paribas Financial Markets lifted its stake in shares of Morgan Stanley Direct Lending by 515.5% in the 4th quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 6,771 shares of the company’s stock worth $140,000 after purchasing an additional 5,671 shares during the period. Finally, Bank of Nova Scotia purchased a new position in shares of Morgan Stanley Direct Lending during the 4th quarter worth $200,000.

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.