Morgan Stanley Direct Lending (NYSE:MSDL) Short Interest Up 101.7% in March

Morgan Stanley Direct Lending (NYSE:MSDL) was the recipient of a large increase in short interest in March. As of March 15th, there was short interest totalling 146,200 shares, an increase of 101.7% from the February 28th total of 72,500 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 617,100 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 0.2 days. Currently, 0.2% of the company’s stock are sold short.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Morgan Stanley Direct Lending

A number of large investors have recently bought and sold shares of MSDL. Squarepoint Ops LLC acquired a new position in shares of Morgan Stanley Direct Lending during the fourth quarter valued at $229,000. Two Sigma Advisers LP acquired a new position in Morgan Stanley Direct Lending during the 4th quarter valued at about $494,000. D. E. Shaw & Co. Inc. bought a new position in Morgan Stanley Direct Lending in the 4th quarter worth about $2,715,000. Cubist Systematic Strategies LLC increased its stake in shares of Morgan Stanley Direct Lending by 257.1% in the fourth quarter. Cubist Systematic Strategies LLC now owns 52,741 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,090,000 after purchasing an additional 37,970 shares during the period. Finally, Centiva Capital LP raised its holdings in shares of Morgan Stanley Direct Lending by 61.3% during the fourth quarter. Centiva Capital LP now owns 17,356 shares of the company’s stock valued at $359,000 after buying an additional 6,595 shares during the last quarter.

Morgan Stanley Direct Lending Stock Performance

NYSE:MSDL traded down $0.16 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $20.71. 579,179 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 654,889. Morgan Stanley Direct Lending has a 52 week low of $19.28 and a 52 week high of $24.18. 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 has a market capitalization of $1.83 billion, a P/E ratio of 8.12 and a beta of 0.65. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $20.66 and a 200-day simple moving average of $20.52.

Morgan Stanley Direct Lending (NYSE:MSDL) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 27th. The company reported $0.57 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.63 by ($0.06). The business had revenue of $103.00 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $107.02 million. Morgan Stanley Direct Lending had a return on equity of 12.69% and a net margin of 54.89%. As a group, 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. Investors of record on Monday, March 31st will be paid a dividend of $0.50 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 31st. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 9.66%. Morgan Stanley Direct Lending’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 82.30%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

MSDL has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. 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, March 3rd. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $22.00 price target on shares of Morgan Stanley Direct Lending in a report on Tuesday, March 4th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target 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.