Short Interest in Bel Fuse Inc. (NASDAQ:BELFA) Expands By 14.1%

Bel Fuse Inc. (NASDAQ:BELFA) was the target of a significant growth in short interest during the month of April. As of April 15th, there was short interest totaling 47,107 shares, a growth of 14.1% from the March 31st total of 41,277 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 102,112 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 0.5 days. Currently, 0.4% of the company’s shares are short sold.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on BELFA shares. Weiss Ratings lowered shares of Bel Fuse from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “hold (c)” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 26th. Robert W. Baird set a $250.00 target price on shares of Bel Fuse in a research note on Thursday, February 19th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating and one has given a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $250.00.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Bel Fuse news, Director Peter E. Gilbert sold 4,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $238.75, for a total transaction of $1,074,375.00. Following the transaction, the director owned 15,047 shares in the company, valued at $3,592,471.25. The trade was a 23.02% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, CEO Farouq Salem Ali Tuweiq sold 33,967 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $234.00, for a total transaction of $7,948,278.00. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders own 4.75% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Bel Fuse

Hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC purchased a new stake in Bel Fuse in the fourth quarter worth about $444,000. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted its stake in Bel Fuse by 6.8% in the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 2,351 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $274,000 after acquiring an additional 150 shares during the period. FNY Investment Advisers LLC lifted its stake in Bel Fuse by 186.7% in the third quarter. FNY Investment Advisers LLC now owns 1,637 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $190,000 after acquiring an additional 1,066 shares during the period. Investors Asset Management of Georgia Inc. GA ADV lifted its stake in Bel Fuse by 0.4% in the third quarter. Investors Asset Management of Georgia Inc. GA ADV now owns 26,151 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $3,043,000 after acquiring an additional 100 shares during the period. Finally, Strs Ohio purchased a new stake in Bel Fuse in the first quarter worth about $396,000. 6.01% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Bel Fuse Stock Up 6.1%

Shares of BELFA opened at $243.45 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.08 billion, a P/E ratio of 58.66 and a beta of 1.25. Bel Fuse has a 12-month low of $61.70 and a 12-month high of $255.04. The company has a current ratio of 3.02, a quick ratio of 1.71 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.46. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $206.51 and a 200-day moving average price of $173.99.

Bel Fuse (NASDAQ:BELFA) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 29th. The scientific and technical instruments company reported $1.72 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.62 by $0.10. Bel Fuse had a net margin of 7.84% and a return on equity of 22.64%. The company had revenue of $178.49 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $172.07 million.

Bel Fuse Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 1st. Investors of record on Wednesday, April 15th will be paid a $0.06 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, April 15th. This represents a $0.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.1%. Bel Fuse’s dividend payout ratio is 5.16%.

Bel Fuse Company Profile

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.