Fidus Investment (NASDAQ:FDUS) Cut to “Hold” at 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 note issued to investors on Sunday,Zacks.com reports.

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

Fidus Investment Price Performance

FDUS opened at $19.79 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $751.03 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.68 and a beta of 0.67. The business has a 50-day moving average of $19.00 and a two-hundred day moving average of $18.76. Fidus Investment has a 12 month low of $16.86 and a 12 month high of $21.69.

Fidus Investment (NASDAQ:FDUS) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 7th. The asset manager reported $0.62 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.50 by $0.12. Fidus Investment had a net margin of 49.51% and a return on equity of 11.19%. The company had revenue of $37.76 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $42.30 million. Equities research analysts anticipate that Fidus Investment will post 2.15 earnings per share for the current year.

Fidus Investment Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a special dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 29th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, June 16th were paid 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 currently 75.44%.

Institutional Trading of Fidus Investment

A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of FDUS. Apollon Wealth Management LLC raised its holdings in 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 buying an additional 544 shares during the period. Stratos Wealth Partners LTD. grew its stake in Fidus Investment by 3.1% during the fourth quarter. Stratos Wealth Partners LTD. now owns 27,000 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $521,000 after buying an additional 800 shares during the period. Osaic Holdings Inc. increased its position in shares of Fidus Investment by 7.6% in the second quarter. Osaic Holdings Inc. now owns 13,092 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $264,000 after acquiring an additional 920 shares in the last quarter. Sage Investment Counsel LLC increased its position in shares of Fidus Investment by 8.3% in the first quarter. Sage Investment Counsel LLC now owns 13,070 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $228,000 after acquiring an additional 1,000 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC raised its stake in shares of Fidus Investment by 3.7% in the 4th quarter. Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC now owns 28,763 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $555,000 after acquiring an additional 1,039 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 28.14% of the company’s stock.

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.