Short Interest in Fidus Investment Corporation (NASDAQ:FDUS) Increases By 58.2%

Fidus Investment Corporation (NASDAQ:FDUS) saw a large growth in short interest during the month of March. As of March 13th, there was short interest totaling 501,725 shares, a growth of 58.2% from the February 26th total of 317,067 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 290,538 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 1.7 days. Currently, 1.3% of the company’s shares are sold short.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have weighed in on FDUS. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods cut their price target on Fidus Investment from $21.00 to $20.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, March 11th. Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Fidus Investment in a report on Monday, December 29th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, one has given a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Fidus Investment currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $21.25.

Fidus Investment Price Performance

NASDAQ FDUS traded down $0.37 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $16.92. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 411,122 shares, compared to its average volume of 377,571. Fidus Investment has a 52-week low of $16.70 and a 52-week high of $22.09. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $18.53 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $19.48. The firm has a market capitalization of $642.18 million, a P/E ratio of 7.23 and a beta of 0.72.

Fidus Investment (NASDAQ:FDUS) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 26th. The asset manager reported $0.52 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.48 by $0.04. Fidus Investment had a net margin of 52.87% and a return on equity of 10.71%. The company had revenue of $32.73 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $39.46 million. On average, equities analysts forecast that Fidus Investment will post 2.28 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Fidus Investment Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 30th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 20th will be paid a dividend of $0.43 per share. This represents a $1.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 10.2%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 20th. Fidus Investment’s payout ratio is currently 73.50%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Fidus Investment

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of FDUS. Beacon Pointe Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of Fidus Investment by 33.1% during the 4th quarter. Beacon Pointe Advisors LLC now owns 30,128 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $581,000 after buying an additional 7,500 shares during the period. XTX Topco Ltd purchased a new position in Fidus Investment in the 4th quarter worth approximately $647,000. Tudor Investment Corp ET AL acquired a new stake in Fidus Investment in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $208,000. Quadrature Capital Ltd purchased a new stake in shares of Fidus Investment during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $286,000. Finally, Oxford Asset Management LLP purchased a new stake in shares of Fidus Investment during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $391,000. 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.