Keefe, Bruyette & Woods Cuts Fidus Investment (NASDAQ:FDUS) Price Target to $19.50

Fidus Investment (NASDAQ:FDUS) had its price target trimmed by Keefe, Bruyette & Woods from $20.00 to $19.50 in a research note published on Thursday,Benzinga reports. The firm currently has an outperform rating on the asset manager’s stock.

Separately, Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Fidus Investment in a report on Monday, December 29th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, one has assigned a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $21.00.

Fidus Investment Stock Up 2.0%

Shares of NASDAQ FDUS opened at $18.92 on Thursday. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $18.11 and its 200-day simple moving average is $19.19. Fidus Investment has a 52-week low of $16.86 and a 52-week high of $22.09. The firm has a market cap of $718.01 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.09 and a beta of 0.69.

Fidus Investment (NASDAQ:FDUS) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 26th. The asset manager reported $0.52 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.48 by $0.04. The firm had revenue of $32.73 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $39.46 million. Fidus Investment had a net margin of 52.87% and a return on equity of 10.71%. Equities research analysts anticipate that Fidus Investment will post 2.28 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Fidus Investment Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 30th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 20th were paid a $0.43 dividend. This represents a $1.72 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 9.1%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, March 20th. Fidus Investment’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 73.50%.

Institutional Trading of Fidus Investment

Hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. lifted its stake in Fidus Investment by 2.6% in the 3rd quarter. Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. now owns 20,859 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $423,000 after purchasing an additional 536 shares in the last quarter. Apollon Wealth Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Fidus Investment by 3.0% in the fourth quarter. Apollon Wealth Management LLC now owns 18,396 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $355,000 after purchasing an additional 544 shares during the last quarter. Golden State Equity Partners increased its holdings in shares of Fidus Investment by 3.6% in the third quarter. Golden State Equity Partners now owns 16,305 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $330,000 after purchasing an additional 565 shares during the last quarter. Cornerstone Wealth Management LLC lifted its position in Fidus Investment by 2.3% during the third quarter. Cornerstone Wealth Management LLC now owns 27,792 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $563,000 after buying an additional 619 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Stratos Wealth Partners LTD. raised its holdings in shares of Fidus Investment by 3.1% during the 4th quarter. Stratos Wealth Partners LTD. now owns 27,000 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $521,000 after acquiring an additional 800 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 28.14% of the company’s stock.

About Fidus Investment

Fidus Investment Corporation (NASDAQ: FDUS) is a closed-end, externally managed business development company (BDC) that provides specialized financing solutions to U.S. middle-market companies. Operated by Fidus Investment Advisors, LLC, a registered investment adviser, the company is regulated under the Investment Company Act of 1940 and trades on the Nasdaq Capital Market.

The firm focuses on structuring senior secured and unitranche loans, mezzanine debt and equity investments for established businesses across a range of industries.