Fidus Investment (NASDAQ:FDUS) Shares Gap Down – Time to Sell?

Shares of Fidus Investment Corporation (NASDAQ:FDUS) gapped down before the market opened on Friday . The stock had previously closed at $19.63, but opened at $19.11. Fidus Investment shares last traded at $18.9650, with a volume of 61,040 shares changing hands.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

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

Fidus Investment Price Performance

The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $19.97 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $20.51. The company has a market cap of $687.98 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.00 and a beta of 0.71.

Fidus Investment (NASDAQ:FDUS) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, November 6th. The asset manager reported $0.50 EPS for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $0.50. Fidus Investment had a return on equity of 10.91% and a net margin of 54.03%.The business had revenue of $37.25 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $37.29 million. As a group, research analysts forecast that Fidus Investment Corporation will post 2.28 EPS for the current year.

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 paid a dividend of $0.43 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, December 19th. This represents a $1.72 annualized dividend and a yield of 9.1%. Fidus Investment’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 72.88%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Fidus Investment

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Advisory Services Network LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Fidus Investment in the third quarter valued at $61,000. CANADA LIFE ASSURANCE Co increased its stake in Fidus Investment by 32.1% during the third quarter. CANADA LIFE ASSURANCE Co now owns 43,709 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $884,000 after purchasing an additional 10,615 shares during the period. Verition Fund Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Fidus Investment by 11.3% during the third quarter. Verition Fund Management LLC now owns 15,700 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $318,000 after purchasing an additional 1,600 shares in the last quarter. Qube Research & Technologies Ltd boosted its stake in shares of Fidus Investment by 28.2% in the third quarter. Qube Research & Technologies Ltd now owns 83,214 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $1,686,000 after purchasing an additional 18,285 shares during the period. Finally, Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. increased its stake in Fidus Investment by 20,718.7% during the 3rd quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 31,228 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $633,000 after buying an additional 31,078 shares during the period. 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.