Morgan Stanley Direct Lending (NYSE:MSDL) Sees Large Growth in Short Interest

Morgan Stanley Direct Lending (NYSE:MSDL) was the target of a large increase in short interest during the month of February. As of February 28th, there was short interest totalling 72,500 shares, an increase of 99.7% from the February 13th total of 36,300 shares. Approximately 0.1% of the shares of the stock are short sold. Based on an average daily volume of 582,800 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 0.1 days.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms recently commented on MSDL. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $22.00 price objective on shares of Morgan Stanley Direct Lending in a report on Tuesday, March 4th. Wells Fargo & Company decreased 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 report on Monday, March 3rd. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $21.38.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Morgan Stanley Direct Lending

Several large investors have recently bought and sold shares of MSDL. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted its stake in shares of Morgan Stanley Direct Lending by 3,509.0% during the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 28,872 shares of the company’s stock worth $571,000 after buying an additional 28,072 shares during the period. Shikiar Asset Management Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Morgan Stanley Direct Lending during the fourth quarter worth about $1,780,000. Franklin Resources Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Morgan Stanley Direct Lending during the third quarter worth about $1,555,000. Jane Street Group LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Morgan Stanley Direct Lending during the third quarter worth about $295,000. Finally, Entropy Technologies LP acquired a new stake in shares of Morgan Stanley Direct Lending during the fourth quarter worth about $392,000.

Morgan Stanley Direct Lending Stock Up 1.2 %

NYSE:MSDL opened at $20.15 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.56, a current ratio of 1.56 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.99. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $20.70 and its two-hundred day moving average is $20.48. Morgan Stanley Direct Lending has a 52 week low of $19.28 and a 52 week high of $24.18. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.78 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 7.90 and a beta of 0.65.

Morgan Stanley Direct Lending (NYSE:MSDL) last posted its quarterly earnings data 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 company had revenue of $103.00 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $107.02 million. Research analysts anticipate that Morgan Stanley Direct Lending will post 2.56 EPS for the current year.

Morgan Stanley Direct Lending Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, April 25th. Investors of record on Monday, March 31st will be issued a $0.50 dividend. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 9.93%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 31st. Morgan Stanley Direct Lending’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 82.30%.

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.