Analyzing CaliberCos (NASDAQ:CWD) and Morgan Stanley Direct Lending Fund (NYSE:MSDL)

Morgan Stanley Direct Lending Fund (NYSE:MSDL) and CaliberCos (NASDAQ:CWD) are both small-cap finance companies, but which is the better stock? We will contrast the two businesses based on the strength of their risk, valuation, analyst recommendations, profitability, earnings, dividends and institutional ownership.

Volatility and Risk

Morgan Stanley Direct Lending Fund has a beta of 0.58, suggesting that its share price is 42% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, CaliberCos has a beta of -0.1, suggesting that its share price is 110% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Valuation & Earnings

This table compares Morgan Stanley Direct Lending Fund and CaliberCos”s top-line revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Morgan Stanley Direct Lending Fund	$72.45 million	16.11	$122.09 million	$0.69	20.12
CaliberCos	$16.25 million	0.27	-$21.80 million	($3.79)	-0.11

Morgan Stanley Direct Lending Fund has higher revenue and earnings than CaliberCos. CaliberCos is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Morgan Stanley Direct Lending Fund, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Profitability

This table compares Morgan Stanley Direct Lending Fund and CaliberCos’ net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Morgan Stanley Direct Lending Fund	15.97%	9.61%	4.28%
CaliberCos	-117.34%	-75.44%	-13.87%

Analyst Ratings

This is a breakdown of current ratings and target prices for Morgan Stanley Direct Lending Fund and CaliberCos, as provided by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Morgan Stanley Direct Lending Fund	0	6	1	0	2.14
CaliberCos	1	0	0	0	1.00

Morgan Stanley Direct Lending Fund presently has a consensus price target of $15.17, suggesting a potential upside of 9.27%. Given Morgan Stanley Direct Lending Fund’s stronger consensus rating and higher possible upside, equities analysts plainly believe Morgan Stanley Direct Lending Fund is more favorable than CaliberCos.

Institutional & Insider Ownership

4.1% of CaliberCos shares are owned by institutional investors. 0.3% of Morgan Stanley Direct Lending Fund shares are owned by company insiders. Comparatively, 8.3% of CaliberCos shares are owned by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that large money managers, endowments and hedge funds believe a stock will outperform the market over the long term.

Summary

Morgan Stanley Direct Lending Fund beats CaliberCos on 12 of the 14 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Morgan Stanley Direct Lending Fund

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.

About CaliberCos

Caliber (NASDAQ: CWD) is a vertically integrated alternative asset management firm whose purpose is to build generational wealth for investors seeking to access opportunities in middle-market assets. Caliber differentiates itself by creating, managing, and servicing proprietary products, including middle-market investment funds, private syndications, and direct investments which are managed by our in-house asset services group. Our funds include investment vehicles focused primarily on real estate, private equity, and debt facilities. Additional information can be found at Caliberco.com and CaliberFunds.co.