Bel Fuse (NASDAQ:BELFB) Upgraded to “Buy” by StockNews.com

StockNews.com upgraded shares of Bel Fuse (NASDAQ:BELFB) from a hold rating to a buy rating in a research report report published on Friday.

BELFB has been the topic of a number of other reports. Northland Securities assumed coverage on shares of Bel Fuse in a research note on Thursday, January 11th. They set an outperform rating and a $83.00 price objective on the stock. Needham & Company LLC lowered their price objective 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.

Bel Fuse Stock Performance

BELFB stock opened at $57.91 on Friday. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $58.10 and its two-hundred day moving average is $58.62. The stock has a market capitalization of $738.93 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.75 and a beta of 1.45. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.18, a quick ratio of 2.21 and a current ratio of 3.45. Bel Fuse has a 1 year low of $35.78 and a 1 year 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 12.62% and a return on equity of 24.03%. The firm had revenue of $140.01 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $152.86 million. On average, research analysts predict that Bel Fuse will post 4.7 EPS for the current year.

Bel Fuse Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 1st. Stockholders of record on Monday, April 15th will be given a dividend of $0.07 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, April 12th. This represents a $0.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.48%. Bel Fuse’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 4.71%.

Insider Activity

In other Bel Fuse news, Director Vincent Vellucci sold 1,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $56.70, for a total transaction of $56,700.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 7,392 shares in the company, valued at approximately $419,126.40. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. 5.37% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Bel Fuse

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in BELFB. Covestor Ltd boosted its holdings in shares of Bel Fuse by 26.5% during 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. Toronto Dominion Bank purchased a new position in shares of Bel Fuse during the 3rd quarter valued at $48,000. New York State Teachers Retirement System increased its stake in shares of Bel Fuse by 373.5% in the first quarter. New York State Teachers Retirement System now owns 947 shares of the electronics maker’s stock worth $57,000 after acquiring an additional 747 shares during the last quarter. Tucker Asset Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Bel Fuse during the third quarter worth $59,000. Finally, AJOVista LLC acquired a new stake in Bel Fuse during the fourth quarter valued at $73,000. 58.39% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.