Baird Financial Group Inc. Buys 89,386 Shares of Fidus Investment Corporation $FDUS

Key Points

• Baird Financial Group Inc. increased its stake in Fidus Investment Corporation by 46.1%, owning 283,093 shares valued at approximately $5.77 million at the end of the first quarter.
• Fidus Investment has recently boosted its quarterly dividend to $0.57, reflecting a significant increase from the previous $0.11 dividend, resulting in an annualized yield of 10.7%.
• Analysts have mixed views on Fidus Investment, with one upgrading the stock to a "strong-buy" rating, while another downgraded it from "buy" to "neutral," adjusting the price target upward to $22.50.

Baird Financial Group Inc. increased its position in shares of Fidus Investment Corporation (NASDAQ:FDUS - Free Report) by 46.1% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 283,093 shares of the asset manager's stock after purchasing an additional 89,386 shares during the quarter. Baird Financial Group Inc. owned 0.82% of Fidus Investment worth $5,772,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of FDUS. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC raised its position in shares of Fidus Investment by 8.2% in the 4th quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 13,267 shares of the asset manager's stock valued at $279,000 after buying an additional 1,000 shares in the last quarter. ORG Partners LLC bought a new position in Fidus Investment in the first quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Private Advisor Group LLC raised its position in Fidus Investment by 17.9% during the first quarter. Private Advisor Group LLC now owns 11,411 shares of the asset manager's stock valued at $233,000 after purchasing an additional 1,732 shares in the last quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC lifted its stake in Fidus Investment by 3.0% during the first quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC now owns 90,668 shares of the asset manager's stock worth $1,849,000 after purchasing an additional 2,683 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Northern Trust Corp boosted its holdings in shares of Fidus Investment by 17.5% in the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 21,255 shares of the asset manager's stock valued at $447,000 after purchasing an additional 3,165 shares in the last quarter. 28.14% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

FDUS has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. LADENBURG THALM/SH SH raised Fidus Investment to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, August 13th. B. Riley downgraded Fidus Investment from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating and boosted their target price for the stock from $22.00 to $22.50 in a research note on Wednesday, August 13th. Finally, 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, August 11th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $22.00.

Fidus Investment Stock Performance

Shares of Fidus Investment stock traded down $0.11 on Wednesday, hitting $21.32. The stock had a trading volume of 207,542 shares, compared to its average volume of 163,494. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $21.22 and a 200 day moving average of $20.48. The firm has a market capitalization of $754.30 million, a P/E ratio of 9.23 and a beta of 0.90. Fidus Investment Corporation has a twelve month low of $16.70 and a twelve month high of $23.55.

Fidus Investment (NASDAQ:FDUS - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, August 7th. The asset manager reported $0.57 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.53 by $0.04. Fidus Investment had a net margin of 51.88% and a return on equity of 11.52%. The firm had revenue of $39.97 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $37.42 million. Equities analysts expect that Fidus Investment Corporation will post 2.28 earnings per share for the current year.

Fidus Investment Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 25th. Investors of record on Thursday, September 18th will be paid a $0.57 dividend. This is a positive change from Fidus Investment's previous quarterly dividend of $0.11. This represents a $2.28 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 10.7%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, September 18th. Fidus Investment's payout ratio is presently 74.46%.

Fidus Investment Profile

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.