Bel Fuse (NASDAQ:BELFB) Downgraded by 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 Wednesday.

Other equities research analysts have also recently issued reports about the stock. Needham & Company LLC decreased their price target on shares of Bel Fuse from $77.00 to $70.00 and set a buy rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, February 23rd. Northland Securities initiated coverage on shares of Bel Fuse in a research report on Thursday, January 11th. They set an outperform rating and a $83.00 target price on the stock.

Bel Fuse Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ BELFB opened at $58.54 on Wednesday. The company has a current ratio of 3.45, a quick ratio of 2.21 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.18. The stock has a market cap of $746.97 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.04 and a beta of 1.45. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $60.59 and its 200 day moving average price is $57.86. Bel Fuse has a 52 week low of $30.11 and a 52 week high of $74.75.

Bel Fuse (NASDAQ:BELFB) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, February 21st. The electronics maker reported $1.37 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.44 by ($0.07). Bel Fuse had a net margin of 11.54% and a return on equity of 24.87%. The company had revenue of $140.01 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $152.86 million. As a group, research analysts forecast that Bel Fuse will post 4.7 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Bel Fuse Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 1st. Investors of record on Monday, April 15th will be given a $0.07 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, April 12th. This represents a $0.28 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.48%. Bel Fuse’s dividend payout ratio is presently 4.80%.

Insider Activity at Bel Fuse

In related news, Director Vincent Vellucci sold 1,000 shares of Bel Fuse stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $56.70, for a total value of $56,700.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 7,392 shares in the company, valued at $419,126.40. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. 5.37% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Bel Fuse

Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Swiss National Bank purchased a new position in Bel Fuse in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $1,117,000. Toronto Dominion Bank acquired a new position in Bel Fuse in the 3rd quarter worth $48,000. Gotham Asset Management LLC purchased a new position in Bel Fuse in the 3rd quarter valued at about $412,000. Strs Ohio grew its stake in shares of Bel Fuse by 757.1% during the third quarter. Strs Ohio now owns 6,000 shares of the electronics maker’s stock valued at $286,000 after acquiring an additional 5,300 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Loomis Sayles & Co. L P purchased a new stake in shares of Bel Fuse during the third quarter worth about $8,377,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 58.39% of the company’s stock.

Bel Fuse Company Profile

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.