# Morgan Stanley Direct Lending Fund (MSDL) fundamentals

Data as of 2026-09-08. NYSE, United States. Sector: Financial Services / Diversified Financial Services. Price $15.25, market value $1.3 billion.

## Valuation
- **P/E (trailing): 22.1×** (5-yr avg 9.1×, 3-yr avg 9.1×). Morgan Stanley Direct Lending Fund trades at 22.1× trailing earnings, well above its own five-year average of 9.1×: investors are paying up relative to the company's past. The Financial Services median in the September 2026 study was 13.1×. Forward P/E is 8.5×, lower than trailing, so analysts expect earnings to grow.
- **Price / book: 0.8×**. The shares trade below book value, which can signal a bargain or a balance sheet the market doubts.
- **Earnings yield: 4.5%**. The inverse of the P/E: 4.5% of the price is earned each year.

## Profitability
- **Return on equity: 7.0%**. 7.0% on shareholders' equity is weak; the business earns little on the capital its owners have in it.

## Growth
- **EPS growth (1 yr): -42.4%** (3-yr 21.0%/yr). Earnings per share fell 42.4%.

## Financial health
- **Piotroski F-score: 4/9**. 4 of 9 checks pass: mixed.
- **Cash and short-term investments: $81 million**. Leverage ratios are shown differently for banks and insurers, whose balance sheets are built on deposits and reserves; use return on equity and the regulatory capital in the filings instead.

## Dividends
- **Dividend yield: 11.80%** ($1.90 per share, trailing). Morgan Stanley Direct Lending Fund yields 11.80%, high enough to check carefully: yields this high often precede a cut.
- **Payout ratio: 151%**. The dividend exceeds earnings (151% payout), which is rarely sustainable outside REITs and one-off years.

## Analyst view
- **Analyst consensus: hold** (7 analysts). 7 analysts cover Morgan Stanley Direct Lending Fund; the consensus is hold, with an average price target of $15.61 (+2% from the current price). Analyst opinion is shown for context; it is not part of the Fundamental Score.

## Price and momentum
- **Total return (1 yr): -4.2%** (YTD -1.6%, 3-mo 3.6%). The shares are down 4.2% over twelve months including dividends.
- **From 52-week high: -15.3%** (11.6% above the low). Trading 15% below its 52-week high.
- **200-day average: above**. The price sits above its 200-day moving average, the usual definition of an uptrend.
- **RSI (14-day): 49**. An RSI of 49 is neutral.
- **Beta (1 yr): 0.69** (volatility 21%). Beta of 0.69 against the S&P 500: the shares move much less than the market.

Live score and charts: https://foliofundamentals.com/analyzer?s=MSDL · Page: https://foliofundamentals.com/stocks/msdl

Not investment advice.