Fidus Investment (NASDAQ:FDUS) Lowered to “Hold” Rating by Keefe, Bruyette & Woods

Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lowered shares of Fidus Investment (NASDAQ:FDUS) from a moderate buy rating to a hold rating in a research report sent to investors on Sunday morning,Zacks.com reports.

Separately, Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Fidus Investment in a research report on Wednesday, June 17th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $21.00.

Fidus Investment Price Performance

Shares of FDUS opened at $19.66 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $746.10 million, a PE ratio of 8.62 and a beta of 0.67. Fidus Investment has a 1-year low of $16.86 and a 1-year high of $22.09. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $18.99 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $18.75.

Fidus Investment (NASDAQ:FDUS) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 7th. The asset manager reported $0.62 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.50 by $0.12. The business had revenue of $37.76 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $42.30 million. Fidus Investment had a return on equity of 11.19% and a net margin of 49.51%. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Fidus Investment will post 2.15 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Fidus Investment Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a special dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 29th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, June 16th were issued a $0.19 dividend. This represents a dividend yield of 414.0%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, June 16th. Fidus Investment’s payout ratio is presently 75.44%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in FDUS. Laurel Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Fidus Investment in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Hilton Head Capital Partners LLC purchased a new position in Fidus Investment during the 4th quarter worth $30,000. Flagship Harbor Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Fidus Investment in the fourth quarter valued at $31,000. BNP Paribas Financial Markets raised its holdings in shares of Fidus Investment by 5,750.0% in the third quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 2,223 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $45,000 after buying an additional 2,185 shares during the last quarter. Finally, MeadowBrook Investment Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Fidus Investment during the fourth quarter worth about $60,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors 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.