Belden Inc. (NYSE:BDC) Sees Large Decline in Short Interest

Belden Inc. (NYSE:BDC) was the target of a significant decrease in short interest in the month of June. As of June 30th, there was short interest totalling 1,000,000 shares, a decrease of 7.4% from the June 15th total of 1,080,000 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 248,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 4.0 days. Currently, 2.5% of the company’s stock are short sold.

Belden Stock Up 1.1 %

Belden stock traded up $1.01 during midday trading on Thursday, hitting $96.66. 31,786 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 267,078. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.02, a quick ratio of 1.83 and a current ratio of 2.55. The company has a market cap of $3.93 billion, a PE ratio of 18.84 and a beta of 1.05. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $94.46 and a two-hundred day moving average of $86.93. Belden has a 12 month low of $60.54 and a 12 month high of $99.07.

Belden (NYSE:BDC) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 2nd. The industrial products company reported $1.24 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.05 by $0.19. Belden had a return on equity of 23.11% and a net margin of 9.01%. The firm had revenue of $536.00 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $514.27 million. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $1.68 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down 16.5% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts expect that Belden will post 5.85 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Belden Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, July 9th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, June 13th were given a dividend of $0.05 per share. This represents a $0.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.21%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, June 13th. Belden’s dividend payout ratio is presently 3.91%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

BDC has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Truist Financial upped their target price on shares of Belden from $119.00 to $123.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, July 5th. Loop Capital lifted their target price on Belden from $100.00 to $115.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, May 17th. StockNews.com upgraded Belden from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, June 17th. Finally, Benchmark reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $100.00 price objective on shares of Belden in a research report on Monday, May 6th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $108.80.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, EVP Brian Lieser sold 819 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, July 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $91.26, for a total transaction of $74,741.94. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 21,031 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,919,289.06. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. In other news, EVP Brian Lieser sold 819 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, July 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $91.26, for a total transaction of $74,741.94. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 21,031 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,919,289.06. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Jonathan C. Klein sold 1,093 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $95.50, for a total transaction of $104,381.50. Following the sale, the director now owns 13,704 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,308,732. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 10,219 shares of company stock worth $986,641. 1.59% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Belden

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Opal Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Belden in the second quarter worth about $28,000. Whittier Trust Co. raised its position in Belden by 662.2% during the 1st quarter. Whittier Trust Co. now owns 343 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $32,000 after buying an additional 298 shares during the last quarter. Rise Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Belden during the 1st quarter valued at approximately $32,000. Quadrant Capital Group LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Belden by 41.7% in the 4th quarter. Quadrant Capital Group LLC now owns 829 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $64,000 after acquiring an additional 244 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Principal Securities Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Belden in the fourth quarter worth $72,000. 98.75% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About Belden

Belden Inc designs, manufactures, and markets a portfolio of signal transmission solutions for mission critical applications in the Americas, Europe, the Middle East, Africa, and the Asia-Pacific. It operates in two segments, Enterprise Solutions and Industrial Automation Solutions. The Enterprise Solutions segment offers copper cable and connectivity solutions, fiber cable and connectivity solutions, interconnect panels, racks and enclosures, and signal extension and matrix switching systems for use in applications, such as local area networks, data centers, access control, 5G, fiber to the home, and building automation.