Fidus Investment (NASDAQ:FDUS) Stock Crosses Above Two Hundred Day Moving Average – Time to Sell?

Shares of Fidus Investment Corporation (NASDAQ:FDUS) passed above its two hundred day moving average during trading on Tuesday. The stock has a two hundred day moving average of $18.98 and traded as high as $19.60. Fidus Investment shares last traded at $19.53, with a volume of 522,628 shares trading hands.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

FDUS has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Weiss Ratings raised Fidus Investment from a “hold (c)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a research report on Monday, August 31st. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reissued a “market perform” rating and issued a $19.50 target price on shares of Fidus Investment in a research note on Monday, July 20th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating, Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $19.50.

Fidus Investment Price Performance

The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $19.65 and a 200-day moving average price of $18.99. The company has a market capitalization of $734.71 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.26 and a beta of 0.67.

Fidus Investment (NASDAQ:FDUS) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 6th. The asset manager reported $0.50 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $0.50. Fidus Investment had a return on equity of 10.87% and a net margin of 45.36%.The business had revenue of $32.55 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $42.37 million. Equities analysts forecast that Fidus Investment Corporation will post 2.16 earnings per share for the current year.

Fidus Investment Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 29th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, September 15th were issued a $0.43 dividend. This represents a $1.72 annualized dividend and a yield of 8.9%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, September 15th. Fidus Investment’s dividend payout ratio is currently 82.30%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Fidus Investment

Institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Legal & General Group Plc bought a new stake in Fidus Investment in the 2nd quarter valued at $5,921,000. Van ECK Associates Corp grew its stake in shares of Fidus Investment by 30.3% in the second quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 929,242 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $17,721,000 after acquiring an additional 216,180 shares in the last quarter. BlackRock Inc. acquired a new stake in Fidus Investment in the 2nd quarter worth about $2,633,000. Beacon Pointe Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Fidus Investment in the 2nd quarter valued at about $2,133,000. Finally, Palogic Value Management L.P. acquired a new position in shares of Fidus Investment during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $1,347,000. Institutional investors own 28.14% of the company’s stock.

About Fidus Investment

Fidus Investment Corporation (NASDAQ: FDUS) is a business development company that provides customized financing solutions to privately owned, lower middle-market companies in the United States. The company primarily invests in established businesses seeking capital for growth, acquisitions, recapitalizations, refinancings and other strategic initiatives.

Fidus invests through a combination of secured debt, subordinated debt and equity investments. Its portfolio may include first-lien and second-lien loans, mezzanine financing and equity interests, allowing the company to structure transactions based on the capital needs and risk profiles of its portfolio companies.