Littelfuse (NASDAQ:LFUS) Given Hold Rating at Benchmark

Benchmark reaffirmed their hold rating on shares of Littelfuse (NASDAQ:LFUS) in a research report report published on Thursday, Benzinga reports.

A number of other research analysts also recently weighed in on LFUS. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Littelfuse from a buy rating to a hold rating in a research report on Saturday, March 30th. Jefferies Financial Group initiated coverage on Littelfuse in a research note on Tuesday, April 9th. They set a hold rating and a $260.00 target price for the company.

Littelfuse Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:LFUS traded up $8.57 during midday trading on Thursday, reaching $247.40. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 219,599 shares, compared to its average volume of 139,770. The company has a quick ratio of 2.49, a current ratio of 3.57 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $234.88 and a 200 day moving average of $239.35. Littelfuse has a twelve month low of $212.80 and a twelve month high of $309.94. The firm has a market capitalization of $6.13 billion, a PE ratio of 28.34, a P/E/G ratio of 2.10 and a beta of 1.32.

Littelfuse (NASDAQ:LFUS) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 30th. The technology company reported $1.76 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.75 by $0.01. The company had revenue of $535.39 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $519.08 million. Littelfuse had a return on equity of 10.21% and a net margin of 9.58%. Littelfuse’s revenue for the quarter was down 12.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $3.64 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts expect that Littelfuse will post 9.46 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Littelfuse Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 6th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, May 23rd will be given a dividend of $0.65 per share. This represents a $2.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.05%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, May 22nd. Littelfuse’s dividend payout ratio is presently 29.78%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, SVP Matthew Cole sold 916 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $248.18, for a total transaction of $227,332.88. Following the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 5,530 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,372,435.40. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. In related news, EVP Ryan K. Stafford sold 1,932 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $243.62, for a total transaction of $470,673.84. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 24,155 shares in the company, valued at $5,884,641.10. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, SVP Matthew Cole sold 916 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, February 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $248.18, for a total transaction of $227,332.88. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now owns 5,530 shares in the company, valued at $1,372,435.40. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 4,370 shares of company stock valued at $1,064,413. Company insiders own 2.30% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Littelfuse

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. VisionPoint Advisory Group LLC purchased a new position in Littelfuse during the third quarter worth about $27,000. Rise Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Littelfuse during the 1st quarter worth approximately $30,000. SRS Capital Advisors Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Littelfuse by 372.4% in the 4th quarter. SRS Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 137 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $37,000 after buying an additional 108 shares during the period. Principal Securities Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Littelfuse in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $50,000. Finally, Assetmark Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Littelfuse by 27.9% in the third quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 367 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $91,000 after buying an additional 80 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 96.14% of the company’s stock.

About Littelfuse

Littelfuse, Inc designs, manufactures, and sells electronic components, modules, and subassemblies in the Americas, Asia-Pacific, and Europe. The company operates through Electronic, Transportation, and Industrial segments. The Electronics segment offers fuses and fuse accessories, positive temperature coefficient resettable fuses, electromechanical switches and interconnect solutions, polymer electrostatic discharge suppressors, varistors, reed switch based magnetic sensing products, and gas discharge tubes; and discrete transient voltage suppressor (TVS) diodes, TVS diode arrays, protection and switching thyristors, metal-oxide-semiconductor field-effect transistors and diodes, and insulated gate bipolar transistors.