Fidus Investment Corporation (NASDAQ:FDUS) Sees Large Decline in Short Interest

Fidus Investment Corporation (NASDAQ:FDUS) was the recipient of a significant drop in short interest in January. As of January 15th, there was short interest totaling 125,676 shares, a drop of 22.4% from the December 31st total of 161,888 shares. Currently, 0.3% of the shares of the stock are sold short. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 224,996 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 0.6 days. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 224,996 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 0.6 days. Currently, 0.3% of the shares of the stock are sold short.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Fidus Investment

A number of institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in FDUS. Van ECK Associates Corp increased its holdings in Fidus Investment by 6.7% in the third quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 903,443 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $18,304,000 after buying an additional 56,449 shares during the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. boosted its position in shares of Fidus Investment by 11.5% during the 3rd quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 497,921 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $10,088,000 after acquiring an additional 51,218 shares in the last quarter. Columbus Macro LLC boosted its position in shares of Fidus Investment by 21.0% during the 4th quarter. Columbus Macro LLC now owns 485,780 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $9,376,000 after acquiring an additional 84,320 shares in the last quarter. UBS Group AG increased its holdings in shares of Fidus Investment by 17.1% in the 4th quarter. UBS Group AG now owns 439,945 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $8,491,000 after acquiring an additional 64,209 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Envestnet Asset Management Inc. raised its position in shares of Fidus Investment by 22.4% during the 3rd quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 439,915 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $8,913,000 after acquiring an additional 80,500 shares in the last quarter. 28.14% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have commented on the stock. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Fidus Investment in a report on Monday, December 29th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods cut their price target on Fidus Investment from $21.50 to $21.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Monday, November 10th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, one has assigned a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $21.75.

Fidus Investment Price Performance

Shares of FDUS stock traded down $0.09 during trading on Friday, hitting $19.29. 170,252 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 188,370. Fidus Investment has a 52-week low of $16.70 and a 52-week high of $23.55. The firm has a market capitalization of $702.73 million, a P/E ratio of 8.17 and a beta of 0.73. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $19.59 and its 200-day moving average price is $20.31.

Fidus Investment (NASDAQ:FDUS) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, November 6th. The asset manager reported $0.50 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $0.50. Fidus Investment had a return on equity of 10.91% and a net margin of 54.03%.The company had revenue of $37.25 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $37.29 million. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Fidus Investment will post 2.28 earnings per share for the current year.

Fidus Investment Cuts Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, December 29th. Investors of record on Friday, December 19th were issued a $0.43 dividend. This represents a $1.72 annualized dividend and a yield of 8.9%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, December 19th. Fidus Investment’s payout ratio is 72.88%.

Fidus Investment Company Profile

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.