Fidus Investment: Paying Up For Quality Has Its Limits

Fidus Investment experienced a near-term lag versus the BDC sector, as anticipated, due to tough Q2 comps and market sensitivity to NII declines. While Q2 brought in balanced results (and thus no abnormally high comp for Q3), I am still reluctant to turn bullish here. My dilemma is paying a premium to NAV and an even more aggressive premium compared to other externally managed BDCs, given the current fundamentals. In this article, I update my thesis based on Q2 results and share the key reasons why I have maintained a hold rating.