Fidus Investment (NASDAQ:FDUS) Posts Earnings Results, Beats Expectations By $0.04 EPS

Fidus Investment (NASDAQ:FDUS) posted its earnings results on Thursday. The asset manager reported $0.52 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.48 by $0.04, FiscalAI reports. Fidus Investment had a return on equity of 10.91% and a net margin of 54.03%.The business had revenue of $32.73 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $39.46 million.

Fidus Investment Trading Down 3.5%

NASDAQ FDUS traded down $0.64 during trading on Friday, hitting $17.76. 426,595 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 231,634. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $19.20 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $20.01. The company has a market cap of $646.92 million, a PE ratio of 7.52 and a beta of 0.73. Fidus Investment has a fifty-two week low of $16.70 and a fifty-two week high of $23.48.

Fidus Investment Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 30th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 20th will be given a dividend of $0.43 per share. This represents a $1.72 annualized dividend and a yield of 9.7%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 20th. Fidus Investment’s payout ratio is currently 72.88%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Fidus Investment

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in FDUS. Dynamic Technology Lab Private Ltd bought a new stake in Fidus Investment in the 1st quarter valued at about $270,000. Jane Street Group LLC purchased a new position in Fidus Investment in the first quarter worth $475,000. Invesco Ltd. increased its position in shares of Fidus Investment by 2.2% during the 2nd quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 446,703 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $9,023,000 after purchasing an additional 9,637 shares during the last quarter. Qube Research & Technologies Ltd grew its position in Fidus Investment by 39.8% during the second quarter. Qube Research & Technologies Ltd now owns 64,929 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $1,312,000 after acquiring an additional 18,489 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Quantinno Capital Management LP bought a new stake in Fidus Investment in the second quarter worth $549,000. 28.14% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

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

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.