Belden (NYSE:BDC) Shares Gap Up to $81.32

Belden Inc. (NYSE:BDC) gapped up before the market opened on Thursday . The stock had previously closed at $81.32, but opened at $88.31. Belden shares last traded at $88.01, with a volume of 46,501 shares trading hands.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

BDC has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Truist Financial boosted their price objective on shares of Belden from $89.00 to $98.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, February 9th. StockNews.com cut shares of Belden from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, April 22nd. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $102.25.

Belden Price Performance

The company has a quick ratio of 1.72, a current ratio of 2.30 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.03. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $86.91 and its 200-day moving average price is $78.05. The stock has a market cap of $3.57 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.54 and a beta of 1.07.

Belden (NYSE:BDC) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 8th. The industrial products company reported $1.46 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.12 by $0.34. The business had revenue of $551.24 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $522.06 million. Belden had a net margin of 9.66% and a return on equity of 25.11%. The company’s revenue was down 16.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $1.75 EPS. Analysts forecast that Belden Inc. will post 5.33 earnings per share for the current year.

Belden Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, April 9th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, March 14th were issued a $0.05 dividend. This represents a $0.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.23%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, March 13th. Belden’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 3.53%.

Insider Activity

In related news, EVP Brian Lieser sold 2,056 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, February 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $82.30, for a total value of $169,208.80. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 21,772 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,791,835.60. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Insiders own 1.59% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Belden

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Vanguard Personalized Indexing Management LLC boosted its position in Belden by 3.8% during the 3rd quarter. Vanguard Personalized Indexing Management LLC now owns 4,301 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $415,000 after acquiring an additional 158 shares in the last quarter. Arizona State Retirement System raised its holdings in Belden by 1.4% in the third quarter. Arizona State Retirement System now owns 12,115 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $1,170,000 after purchasing an additional 169 shares in the last quarter. State of Michigan Retirement System lifted its position in Belden by 2.0% during the first quarter. State of Michigan Retirement System now owns 10,198 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $944,000 after buying an additional 200 shares during the period. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust boosted its holdings in shares of Belden by 15.1% during the 3rd quarter. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust now owns 1,589 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $153,000 after buying an additional 209 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Quadrant Capital Group LLC grew its position 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 worth $64,000 after buying an additional 244 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 98.75% of the company’s stock.

Belden Company Profile

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.