Fidus Investment (NASDAQ:FDUS) Issues Earnings Results, Meets Estimates

Fidus Investment (NASDAQ:FDUS) released its earnings results on Thursday. The asset manager reported $0.50 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, hitting analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.50, Zacks reports. Fidus Investment had a net margin of 51.88% and a return on equity of 11.52%. The company had revenue of $37.25 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $37.29 million.

Fidus Investment Stock Down 4.4%

FDUS opened at $19.77 on Friday. Fidus Investment has a 12-month low of $16.70 and a 12-month high of $23.55. The firm has a market capitalization of $699.46 million, a P/E ratio of 8.56 and a beta of 0.91. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $20.60 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $20.49.

Fidus Investment Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 29th. Shareholders of record on Friday, December 19th will be issued a $0.43 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, December 19th. This represents a $1.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 8.7%. Fidus Investment’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 74.46%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased its holdings in Fidus Investment by 99.9% in the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 8,793 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $178,000 after buying an additional 4,395 shares during the period. Osaic Holdings Inc. boosted its position in shares of Fidus Investment by 7.6% during the 2nd quarter. Osaic Holdings Inc. now owns 13,092 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $264,000 after acquiring an additional 920 shares in the last quarter. Dynamic Technology Lab Private Ltd bought a new stake in Fidus Investment in the first quarter valued at about $270,000. Jane Street Group LLC acquired a new position in Fidus Investment in the first quarter worth about $475,000. Finally, Quantinno Capital Management LP acquired a new position in Fidus Investment in the second quarter worth about $549,000. 28.14% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

FDUS has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upgraded Fidus Investment from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $21.50 target price on the stock in a research note on Monday, October 6th. LADENBURG THALM/SH SH upgraded shares of Fidus Investment to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 13th. Weiss Ratings restated a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of Fidus Investment in a research note on Tuesday, October 14th. Finally, B. Riley downgraded Fidus Investment from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and upped their price target for the stock from $22.00 to $22.50 in a research note on Wednesday, August 13th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have assigned a Buy rating and one has issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Fidus Investment currently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $22.00.

About Fidus Investment

Fidus Investment Corporation is a business development company. It specializing in leveraged buyouts, refinancings, change of ownership transactions, recapitalizations, strategic acquisitions, mezzanine, growth capital, business expansion, lower middle market investments, debt investments, subordinated and second lien loans, senior secured and unitranche debt, preferred equity, warrants, subordinated debt, senior subordinated notes, junior secured loans, and unitranche loans.