Bel Fuse (NASDAQ:BELFA) Trading Down 9.1% – Here’s What Happened

Bel Fuse Inc. (NASDAQ:BELFA)’s stock price dropped 9.1% during mid-day trading on Monday . The company traded as low as $192.65 and last traded at $189.7680. Approximately 36,568 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 68% from the average daily volume of 112,812 shares. The stock had previously closed at $208.72.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

BELFA has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Weiss Ratings cut Bel Fuse from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “hold (c)” rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 26th. Citigroup assumed coverage on Bel Fuse in a research note on Monday, July 13th. They issued a “buy” rating on the stock. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $250.00.

Bel Fuse Price Performance

The business’s fifty day moving average price is $221.47 and its 200 day moving average price is $226.07. The stock has a market cap of $2.74 billion, a P/E ratio of 48.80 and a beta of 1.39.

Bel Fuse (NASDAQ:BELFA) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 29th. The scientific and technical instruments company reported $2.76 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.34 by $0.42. The business had revenue of $210.69 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $206.39 million. Bel Fuse had a net margin of 7.21% and a return on equity of 20.55%.

Bel Fuse Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, October 30th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, October 15th will be issued a dividend of $0.06 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, October 15th. This represents a $0.24 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.1%. Bel Fuse’s dividend payout ratio is 6.14%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Vincent Vellucci sold 393 shares of Bel Fuse stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, September 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $243.61, for a total transaction of $95,738.73. Following the sale, the director directly owned 8,434 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,054,606.74. This trade represents a 4.45% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Peter E. Gilbert sold 500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $292.12, for a total value of $146,060.00. Following the sale, the director owned 750 shares in the company, valued at approximately $219,090. This trade represents a 40.00% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. 4.75% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Bel Fuse

Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of BELFA. BNP Paribas Financial Markets grew its stake in shares of Bel Fuse by 92.2% in the third quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 319 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $37,000 after purchasing an additional 153 shares during the last quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. raised its position in Bel Fuse by 6,000.0% during the 1st quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 305 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $55,000 after purchasing an additional 300 shares during the last quarter. Sunbelt Securities Inc. acquired a new position in Bel Fuse during the 4th quarter worth about $61,000. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC lifted its holdings in Bel Fuse by 447.1% during the 2nd quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC now owns 744 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $67,000 after buying an additional 608 shares during the period. Finally, Deutsche Bank AG bought a new stake in shares of Bel Fuse in the 4th quarter valued at about $111,000. Institutional investors own 6.01% of the company’s stock.

Bel Fuse Company Profile

Bel Fuse Inc is a global manufacturer of products that support the safe transmission, protection and management of electrical power and signals. The company serves original equipment manufacturers, distributors and other customers across markets including networking and telecommunications, data centers, industrial equipment, consumer electronics, automotive, medical and aerospace applications.

Its product portfolio includes circuit protection devices such as fuses and resettable protection components; power products including power supplies, converters and transformers; and interconnect products such as connectors, cable assemblies and related components.