Black Swift Group LLC Takes Position in Morgan Stanley Direct Lending (NYSE:MSDL)

Black Swift Group LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Morgan Stanley Direct Lending (NYSE:MSDL) in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund acquired 24,470 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $506,000.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Morgan Stanley Direct Lending during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $3,051,000. Muzinich & Co. Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Morgan Stanley Direct Lending by 2,953.8% during the fourth quarter. Muzinich & Co. Inc. now owns 104,501 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,159,000 after acquiring an additional 101,079 shares in the last quarter. Denali Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Morgan Stanley Direct Lending during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $1,918,000. Truist Financial Corp increased its holdings in shares of Morgan Stanley Direct Lending by 48.0% during the fourth quarter. Truist Financial Corp now owns 27,228 shares of the company’s stock valued at $563,000 after acquiring an additional 8,830 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Sanctuary Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Morgan Stanley Direct Lending during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $286,000.

Morgan Stanley Direct Lending Stock Up 0.3 %

Shares of NYSE:MSDL opened at $20.13 on Thursday. The stock has a market cap of $1.78 billion and a price-to-earnings ratio of 7.89. The company has a quick ratio of 1.56, a current ratio of 1.56 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.99. Morgan Stanley Direct Lending has a 12-month low of $19.28 and a 12-month high of $24.18. The business’s 50 day moving average is $20.82 and its 200 day moving average is $20.48.

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 the consensus estimate 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. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Morgan Stanley Direct Lending will post 2.56 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Morgan Stanley Direct Lending Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, April 25th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 31st will be given a $0.50 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 31st. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 9.94%. Morgan Stanley Direct Lending’s dividend payout ratio is currently 82.30%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have recently commented on MSDL. Royal Bank of Canada restated an “outperform” rating and set a $22.00 price objective on shares of Morgan Stanley Direct Lending in a report on Tuesday. Wells Fargo & Company cut their target price on Morgan Stanley Direct Lending from $21.00 to $20.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $21.38.

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.