Fidus Investment (NASDAQ:FDUS) Rating Increased to Strong-Buy at LADENBURG THALM/SH SH

Key Points

• Fidus Investment has received a rating upgrade to "strong-buy" from LADENBURG THALM/SH SH, indicating increased analyst confidence in the stock.
• After positive earnings results, where the company reported $0.57 EPS surpassing expectations, analysts project Fidus Investment will post 2.28 EPS for the current year.
• Institutional investors are actively engaging with Fidus Investment, with several firms increasing their stakes during the fourth quarter, reflecting growing interest in the company.

Fidus Investment (NASDAQ:FDUS - Get Free Report) was upgraded by LADENBURG THALM/SH SH to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report issued on Wednesday,Zacks.com reports.

Other equities research analysts also recently issued research reports about the stock. B. Riley downgraded shares of Fidus Investment from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating and upped their price target for the company from $22.00 to $22.50 in a research note on Wednesday. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their target price on shares of Fidus Investment from $20.00 to $21.50 and gave the stock a "market perform" rating in a report on Monday.

Fidus Investment Stock Down 0.1%

Shares of FDUS stock opened at $21.34 on Wednesday. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $20.74 and a 200-day moving average price of $20.67. Fidus Investment has a 52 week low of $16.70 and a 52 week high of $23.55. The firm has a market capitalization of $755.01 million, a PE ratio of 9.24 and a beta of 0.95.

Fidus Investment (NASDAQ:FDUS - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, August 7th. The asset manager reported $0.57 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.53 by $0.04. Fidus Investment had a net margin of 51.88% and a return on equity of 11.52%. The company had revenue of $39.97 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $37.42 million. Analysts anticipate that Fidus Investment will post 2.28 earnings per share for the current year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Fidus Investment

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Wells Fargo & Company MN increased its stake in Fidus Investment by 32.6% during the fourth quarter. Wells Fargo & Company MN now owns 18,309 shares of the asset manager's stock worth $385,000 after purchasing an additional 4,500 shares during the period. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. raised its stake in shares of Fidus Investment by 20.2% during the fourth quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 300,799 shares of the asset manager's stock worth $6,323,000 after purchasing an additional 50,447 shares during the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new position in Fidus Investment in the fourth quarter worth $20,539,000. Transce3nd LLC purchased a new position in Fidus Investment in the fourth quarter worth $32,000. Finally, IHT Wealth Management LLC grew its holdings in Fidus Investment by 9.9% in the fourth quarter. IHT Wealth Management LLC now owns 60,357 shares of the asset manager's stock valued at $1,269,000 after purchasing an additional 5,436 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 28.14% of the company's stock.

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.

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