Benchmark Reiterates Buy Rating for Belden (NYSE:BDC)

Benchmark restated their buy rating on shares of Belden (NYSE:BDC) in a report issued on Monday, Benzinga reports. Benchmark currently has a $100.00 price target on the industrial products company’s stock.

Other research analysts have also issued reports about the stock. Truist Financial increased their price objective on shares of Belden from $98.00 to $101.00 and gave the stock a buy rating in a report on Friday, May 3rd. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Belden from a hold rating to a buy rating in a report on Thursday, May 2nd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Belden has an average rating of Moderate Buy and an average price target of $102.40.

Belden Price Performance

Belden stock opened at $91.50 on Monday. Belden has a 12-month low of $60.54 and a 12-month high of $99.13. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.72 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.91 and a beta of 1.07. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $87.44 and its two-hundred day moving average is $78.58. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.02, a current ratio of 2.55 and a quick ratio of 1.83.

Belden (NYSE:BDC) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 2nd. The industrial products company reported $1.24 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.05 by $0.19. Belden had a net margin of 9.01% and a return on equity of 23.11%. The company had revenue of $536.00 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $514.27 million. During the same period last year, the company earned $1.68 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 16.5% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts predict that Belden will post 5.77 earnings per share for the current year.

Belden Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, April 9th. Investors of record on Thursday, March 14th were issued a $0.05 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, March 13th. This represents a $0.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.22%. Belden’s payout ratio is 3.91%.

Insider Activity at Belden

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

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. South Dakota Investment Council raised its stake in shares of Belden by 20.5% during the fourth quarter. South Dakota Investment Council now owns 64,634 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $4,993,000 after purchasing an additional 11,000 shares during the period. State of Alaska Department of Revenue raised its stake in shares of Belden by 588.5% during the fourth quarter. State of Alaska Department of Revenue now owns 34,612 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $2,673,000 after purchasing an additional 29,585 shares during the period. Duality Advisers LP purchased a new stake in shares of Belden during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $1,733,000. State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D raised its stake in shares of Belden by 41.1% during the fourth quarter. State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D now owns 37,671 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $2,910,000 after purchasing an additional 10,975 shares during the period. Finally, Natixis Advisors L.P. grew its position in shares of Belden by 75.4% during the third quarter. Natixis Advisors L.P. now owns 27,098 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $2,616,000 after buying an additional 11,651 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 98.75% of the company’s stock.

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.