Bel Fuse (NASDAQ:BELFA) Reaches New 12-Month High – Still a Buy?

Bel Fuse Inc. (NASDAQ:BELFA)’s share price hit a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Wednesday . The company traded as high as $188.12 and last traded at $186.1660, with a volume of 81276 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $183.24.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Separately, Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of Bel Fuse in a research note on Monday, December 29th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, one has assigned a Buy rating and one has issued a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Bel Fuse has an average rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $115.00.

Bel Fuse Stock Performance

The stock has a market capitalization of $2.37 billion, a P/E ratio of 37.93 and a beta of 1.22. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $148.25 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $127.55. The company has a quick ratio of 1.75, a current ratio of 3.06 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.53.

Bel Fuse (NASDAQ:BELFA) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 29th. The scientific and technical instruments company reported $1.99 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.40 by $0.59. Bel Fuse had a return on equity of 21.18% and a net margin of 10.04%.The company had revenue of $178.98 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $171.69 million.

Insider Transactions at Bel Fuse

In other news, VP Kenneth Koon Keung Lai sold 1,936 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $144.23, for a total transaction of $279,229.28. Following the transaction, the vice president directly owned 8,319 shares in the company, valued at $1,199,849.37. The trade was a 18.88% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, VP Joseph Berry sold 408 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $144.23, for a total transaction of $58,845.84. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president directly owned 17,893 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,580,707.39. The trade was a 2.23% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. In the last three months, insiders sold 3,027 shares of company stock valued at $435,034. Insiders own 5.46% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Bel Fuse during the second quarter worth $330,000. Investors Asset Management of Georgia Inc. GA ADV acquired a new position in shares of Bel Fuse in the second quarter valued at about $2,341,000. Cynosure Group LLC increased its position in Bel Fuse by 23.2% during the second quarter. Cynosure Group LLC now owns 5,302 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $476,000 after acquiring an additional 1,000 shares during the period. FNY Investment Advisers LLC acquired a new stake in Bel Fuse in the 2nd quarter worth about $51,000. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted its holdings in Bel Fuse by 6.8% in the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 2,351 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $274,000 after purchasing an additional 150 shares during the period. 6.01% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

About Bel Fuse

Bel Fuse Inc, incorporated in 1949 and headquartered in Jersey City, New Jersey, designs and manufactures a broad range of electronic components aimed at ensuring reliable power delivery, circuit protection and signal connectivity. The company operates through two primary segments—Power Solutions Group and Telecom Products Group—serving original equipment manufacturers in multiple end markets, including telecommunications, data communications, consumer electronics, industrial and transportation.

Within its Power Solutions Group, Bel Fuse offers magnetic components such as power and signal transformers, inductors and coils, as well as circuit protection devices including fuses and resettable polyfuses.