Fidus Investment Corporation $FDUS Shares Sold by Trexquant Investment LP

Key Points

• Trexquant Investment LP has reduced its stake in Fidus Investment Corporation (NASDAQ:FDUS) by 41.8%, now holding approximately 0.14%, valued at $997,000.
• Fidus Investment recently increased its quarterly dividend to $0.57 per share, resulting in an annualized yield of 10.7%, which is significantly higher compared to the previous dividend of $0.11.
• The company's quarterly earnings exceeded expectations, reporting $0.57 earnings per share against an estimate of $0.53, with revenue reaching $39.97 million.

Trexquant Investment LP reduced its position in Fidus Investment Corporation (NASDAQ:FDUS - Free Report) by 41.8% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 48,890 shares of the asset manager's stock after selling 35,137 shares during the quarter. Trexquant Investment LP owned about 0.14% of Fidus Investment worth $997,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of FDUS. Baird Financial Group Inc. acquired a new position in Fidus Investment in the 4th quarter valued at $4,072,000. Ethos Financial Group LLC acquired a new position in Fidus Investment in the 1st quarter valued at $2,740,000. Virtu Financial LLC acquired a new position in Fidus Investment in the 1st quarter valued at $1,045,000. Cetera Investment Advisers boosted its position in shares of Fidus Investment by 18.8% during the 4th quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 303,421 shares of the asset manager's stock worth $6,378,000 after purchasing an additional 48,034 shares in the last quarter. Finally, MQS Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Fidus Investment during the 1st quarter worth $936,000. 28.14% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on FDUS. B. Riley cut shares of Fidus Investment from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating and upped their price target for the stock from $22.00 to $22.50 in a research note on Wednesday, August 13th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their price target on shares of Fidus Investment from $20.00 to $21.50 and gave the stock a "market perform" rating in a research note on Monday, August 11th. Finally, LADENBURG THALM/SH SH raised shares of Fidus Investment to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 13th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $22.00.

Fidus Investment Stock Performance

NASDAQ FDUS traded down $0.04 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $21.47. The company's stock had a trading volume of 194,346 shares, compared to its average volume of 167,442. The stock has a market cap of $759.61 million, a PE ratio of 9.29 and a beta of 0.90. Fidus Investment Corporation has a fifty-two week low of $16.70 and a fifty-two week high of $23.55. The company's 50-day moving average is $21.25 and its two-hundred day moving average is $20.46.

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

Fidus Investment Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced 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 represents a $2.28 annualized dividend and a yield of 10.6%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, September 18th. This is a positive change from Fidus Investment's previous quarterly dividend of $0.11. Fidus Investment's dividend 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.