Fidus Investment Corporation (NASDAQ:FDUS) Short Interest Update

Key Points

• Short interest jumped 36% in March to 682,548 shares (1.8% of shares sold short), leaving a short-interest ratio of about 1.7 days based on average daily volume.
• Wall Street consensus is a “Moderate Buy” with an average target of $21.25, following mixed analyst ratings (1 Strong Buy, 1 Buy, 2 Hold) and a KBW price target cut to $20 while remaining “outperform.”
• Fidus reported a quarterly EPS of $0.52 (beating estimates) but missed revenue expectations; the firm has a market cap of about $711M, a PE of 8.0, and pays a quarterly dividend of $0.43 (annualized yield ~9.2%, DPR 73.5%).

Fidus Investment Corporation (NASDAQ:FDUS - Get Free Report) was the target of a significant growth in short interest in the month of March. As of March 31st, there was short interest totaling 682,548 shares, a growth of 36.0% from the March 15th total of 501,725 shares. Currently, 1.8% of the shares of the company are sold short. Based on an average daily volume of 409,349 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 1.7 days.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

FDUS has been the topic of a number of research reports. Weiss Ratings reissued a "hold (c)" rating on shares of Fidus Investment in a report on Monday, December 29th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods cut their price objective on Fidus Investment from $21.00 to $20.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, March 11th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, one has issued a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $21.25.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Fidus Investment

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. State of Alaska Department of Revenue purchased a new position in Fidus Investment during the third quarter worth approximately $28,000. Atlantic Union Bankshares Corp purchased a new position in Fidus Investment during the third quarter worth approximately $30,000. Laurel Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Fidus Investment during the fourth quarter worth approximately $30,000. Hilton Head Capital Partners LLC purchased a new position in Fidus Investment during the fourth quarter worth approximately $30,000. Finally, Flagship Harbor Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Fidus Investment during the fourth quarter worth approximately $31,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 28.14% of the company's stock.

Fidus Investment Stock Performance

Fidus Investment stock traded up $0.29 during midday trading on Wednesday, hitting $18.73. 261,642 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 306,438. The firm has a market capitalization of $710.80 million, a PE ratio of 8.00 and a beta of 0.69. Fidus Investment has a fifty-two week low of $16.86 and a fifty-two week high of $22.09. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $18.11 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $19.21.

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

Fidus Investment Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 30th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 20th were given a $0.43 dividend. This represents a $1.72 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 9.2%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 20th. Fidus Investment's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 73.50%.

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.

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