Bel Fuse (NASDAQ:BELFB) Lowered to Hold at StockNews.com

StockNews.com downgraded shares of Bel Fuse (NASDAQ:BELFB) from a buy rating to a hold rating in a research note issued to investors on Saturday morning.

Several other equities research analysts also recently issued reports on BELFB. Needham & Company LLC dropped their target price on Bel Fuse from $70.00 to $68.00 and set a buy rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, April 29th. Northland Securities downgraded Bel Fuse from an outperform rating to a market perform rating and set a $63.00 price target for the company. in a research report on Thursday.

Bel Fuse Stock Performance

Bel Fuse stock traded down $0.53 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $58.04. 89,166 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 86,174. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $57.67 and its 200 day simple moving average is $59.11. Bel Fuse has a one year low of $39.13 and a one year high of $74.75. The firm has a market capitalization of $740.59 million, a PE ratio of 9.77 and a beta of 1.46. The company has a quick ratio of 2.70, a current ratio of 4.21 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.17.

Bel Fuse (NASDAQ:BELFB) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, February 21st. The electronics maker reported $1.37 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.44 by ($0.07). Bel Fuse had a return on equity of 23.58% and a net margin of 12.62%. The business had revenue of $140.01 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $152.86 million. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Bel Fuse will post 4.39 earnings per share for the current year.

Bel Fuse Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, August 1st. Investors of record on Monday, July 15th will be given a dividend of $0.07 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, July 12th. This represents a $0.28 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.48%. Bel Fuse’s payout ratio is 4.71%.

Insider Activity at Bel Fuse

In other news, Director Vincent Vellucci sold 1,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $56.70, for a total transaction of $56,700.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 7,392 shares in the company, valued at $419,126.40. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. 5.37% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Bel Fuse

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. New York State Teachers Retirement System lifted its position in Bel Fuse by 373.5% during the first quarter. New York State Teachers Retirement System now owns 947 shares of the electronics maker’s stock valued at $57,000 after buying an additional 747 shares during the period. Toronto Dominion Bank bought a new stake in Bel Fuse during the third quarter worth about $48,000. Covestor Ltd grew its holdings in Bel Fuse by 26.5% in the third quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 1,012 shares of the electronics maker’s stock worth $48,000 after purchasing an additional 212 shares during the period. AJOVista LLC bought a new position in shares of Bel Fuse during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $73,000. Finally, National Bank of Canada FI bought a new position in shares of Bel Fuse during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $78,000. 58.39% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About Bel Fuse

Bel Fuse Inc designs, manufactures, markets, and sells products that are used in the networking, telecommunications, computing, general industrial, high-speed data transmission, military, commercial aerospace, transportation, and e-Mobility industries in the United States, the People's Republic of China, Macao, the United Kingdom, Slovakia, Germany, India, Switzerland, and internationally.