Fidus Investment Co. (NASDAQ:FDUS) Short Interest Down 22.2% in December

Fidus Investment Co. (NASDAQ:FDUS - Get Free Report) saw a significant decline in short interest in December. As of December 31st, there was short interest totalling 158,700 shares, a decline of 22.2% from the December 15th total of 204,100 shares. Currently, 0.5% of the company's stock are sold short. Based on an average daily volume of 209,600 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 0.8 days.

Fidus Investment Price Performance

FDUS stock traded up $0.08 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $21.70. The stock had a trading volume of 192,336 shares, compared to its average volume of 172,784. The business has a 50-day moving average of $20.91 and a two-hundred day moving average of $20.07. The firm has a market cap of $736.06 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 7.75 and a beta of 1.39. Fidus Investment has a 52-week low of $18.41 and a 52-week high of $21.76.

Fidus Investment (NASDAQ:FDUS - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The asset manager reported $0.61 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.57 by $0.04. Fidus Investment had a net margin of 60.09% and a return on equity of 12.11%. The firm had revenue of $38.38 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $36.43 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $0.68 EPS. Research analysts predict that Fidus Investment will post 2.28 earnings per share for the current year.

Fidus Investment Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, December 27th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, December 17th were issued a dividend of $0.61 per share. This represents a $2.44 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 11.24%. This is a positive change from Fidus Investment's previous quarterly dividend of $0.57. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, December 17th. Fidus Investment's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 61.43%.

Institutional Trading of Fidus Investment

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in FDUS. Riverbridge Partners LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Fidus Investment in the fourth quarter worth $716,000. Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc. grew its position in Fidus Investment by 27.4% during the 4th quarter. Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc. now owns 44,422 shares of the asset manager's stock valued at $934,000 after purchasing an additional 9,559 shares during the last quarter. Fiduciary Alliance LLC bought a new stake in Fidus Investment during the 4th quarter valued at about $274,000. Franklin Resources Inc. raised its holdings in Fidus Investment by 37.0% in the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 116,472 shares of the asset manager's stock worth $2,269,000 after buying an additional 31,426 shares during the last quarter. Finally, McIlrath & Eck LLC bought a new position in shares of Fidus Investment in the third quarter worth approximately $59,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 28.14% of the company's stock.

Fidus Investment Company 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.