Morgan Stanley Direct Lending (NYSE:MSDL) Posts Quarterly Earnings Results, Meets Expectations

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

Morgan Stanley Direct Lending Trading Down 4.1 %

NYSE MSDL traded down $0.96 during trading on Friday, hitting $22.36. 24,977 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 129,854. Morgan Stanley Direct Lending has a 12 month low of $19.05 and a 12 month high of $23.33. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $21.62. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.87, a current ratio of 1.26 and a quick ratio of 1.26. The company has a market cap of $1.99 billion and a P/E ratio of 7.17.

Morgan Stanley Direct Lending Cuts Dividend

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

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

MSDL has been the topic of several recent research reports. Raymond James started coverage on Morgan Stanley Direct Lending in a report on Tuesday, February 20th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $22.00 price target on the stock. UBS Group initiated coverage on Morgan Stanley Direct Lending in a research report on Tuesday, February 20th. They set a “buy” rating and a $23.50 price target on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company initiated coverage on Morgan Stanley Direct Lending in a research report on Tuesday, February 20th. They set an “equal weight” rating and a $21.00 price target on the stock. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $21.00 price target on shares of Morgan Stanley Direct Lending in a research report on Monday, March 4th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on Morgan Stanley Direct Lending from $20.50 to $21.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, April 12th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Morgan Stanley Direct Lending has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target 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.