Morgan Stanley Direct Lending (NYSE:MSDL) Given New $21.00 Price Target at JPMorgan Chase & Co.

Morgan Stanley Direct Lending (NYSE:MSDL) had its target price upped by JPMorgan Chase & Co. from $20.50 to $21.00 in a research report sent to investors on Friday morning, Benzinga reports. The firm currently has a neutral rating on the stock.

A number of other brokerages have also weighed in on MSDL. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods began coverage on shares of Morgan Stanley Direct Lending in a research report on Tuesday, February 20th. They set a market perform rating and a $21.00 target price for the company. Raymond James began coverage on shares of 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. Royal Bank of Canada reissued an outperform rating and issued a $21.00 price target on shares of Morgan Stanley Direct Lending in a report on Monday, March 4th. UBS Group began coverage on shares of Morgan Stanley Direct Lending in a report on Tuesday, February 20th. They issued a buy rating and a $23.50 price target on the stock. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company began coverage on shares of Morgan Stanley Direct Lending in a report on Tuesday, February 20th. They issued an equal weight rating and a $21.00 price target on the stock. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus target price of $21.58.

Morgan Stanley Direct Lending Stock Down 1.0 %

Shares of NYSE:MSDL opened at $20.87 on Friday. 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 capitalization of $1.86 billion and a price-to-earnings ratio of 6.67. Morgan Stanley Direct Lending has a twelve month low of $19.05 and a twelve month high of $22.97. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $21.47.

Morgan Stanley Direct Lending (NYSE:MSDL) last issued its earnings results on Friday, March 1st. The company reported $0.67 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.66 by $0.01. The firm had revenue of $100.80 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $97.34 million. Morgan Stanley Direct Lending had a net margin of 62.81% and a return on equity of 11.51%. Analysts anticipate that Morgan Stanley Direct Lending will post 2.45 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Morgan Stanley Direct Lending Cuts Dividend

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

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.