B. Riley Initiates Coverage on Fidus Investment (NASDAQ:FDUS)

Equities researchers at B. Riley initiated coverage on shares of Fidus Investment (NASDAQ:FDUS) in a note issued to investors on Tuesday, MarketBeat Ratings reports. The firm set a “buy” rating and a $22.00 price target on the asset manager’s stock. B. Riley’s target price suggests a potential upside of 10.00% from the company’s previous close.

Several other analysts have also recently weighed in on FDUS. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods cut their price target on shares of Fidus Investment from $21.00 to $20.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, April 8th. LADENBURG THALM/SH SH lowered shares of Fidus Investment from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, March 7th.

Fidus Investment Stock Down 1.1%

NASDAQ:FDUS opened at $20.00 on Tuesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $694.64 million, a P/E ratio of 7.14 and a beta of 0.92. Fidus Investment has a 52 week low of $16.70 and a 52 week high of $23.55. The company has a fifty day moving average of $19.53 and a 200 day moving average of $20.77.

Fidus Investment (NASDAQ:FDUS) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, May 8th. The asset manager reported $0.54 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.53 by $0.01. The company had revenue of $36.50 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $35.61 million. Fidus Investment had a net margin of 60.09% and a return on equity of 12.11%. As a group, analysts anticipate that Fidus Investment will post 2.28 EPS for the current year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Fidus Investment

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Fidus Investment in the 4th quarter worth about $20,539,000. Van ECK Associates Corp increased its stake in shares of Fidus Investment by 1.2% during the fourth quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 819,011 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $17,215,000 after purchasing an additional 9,600 shares in the last quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers lifted its holdings in shares of Fidus Investment by 10.6% during the first quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 335,498 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $6,841,000 after purchasing an additional 32,077 shares during the last quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. boosted its position in shares of Fidus Investment by 7.8% in the 1st quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 324,277 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $6,612,000 after purchasing an additional 23,478 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Columbus Macro LLC grew its stake in shares of Fidus Investment by 7.8% in the 1st quarter. Columbus Macro LLC now owns 287,622 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $5,865,000 after buying an additional 20,727 shares during the last quarter. 28.14% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.