Belden (NYSE:BDC) Shares Gap Up to $99.05

Belden Inc. (NYSE:BDC)’s stock price gapped up before the market opened on Thursday . The stock had previously closed at $99.05, but opened at $103.26. Belden shares last traded at $100.89, with a volume of 15,577 shares traded.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts recently issued reports on the company. Vertical Research started coverage on Belden in a research note on Tuesday, July 23rd. They set a “buy” rating and a $110.00 price objective on the stock. Benchmark upped their target price on Belden from $110.00 to $115.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, August 2nd. Truist Financial lifted their target price on Belden from $123.00 to $124.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, August 2nd. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Belden from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, June 17th. Finally, Loop Capital upped their target price on shares of Belden from $100.00 to $115.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, May 17th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $111.67.

Belden Trading Up 1.2 %

The company has a market cap of $4.08 billion, a PE ratio of 19.39 and a beta of 1.07. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $98.06 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $93.09. The company has a current ratio of 1.70, a quick ratio of 1.25 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.95.

Belden (NYSE:BDC) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 1st. The industrial products company reported $1.51 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.37 by $0.14. The firm had revenue of $604.34 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $574.32 million. Belden had a return on equity of 21.13% and a net margin of 8.51%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down 12.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $1.91 EPS. On average, analysts forecast that Belden Inc. will post 6.04 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Belden Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, October 8th. Investors of record on Thursday, September 12th will be paid a dividend of $0.05 per share. This represents a $0.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.20%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, September 12th. Belden’s payout ratio is currently 3.91%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Belden news, EVP Brian Lieser sold 819 shares of Belden stock in a transaction on Wednesday, July 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $91.26, for a total value of $74,741.94. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 21,031 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,919,289.06. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. In other Belden news, Director Nancy E. Calderon sold 2,500 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, August 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $95.98, for a total transaction of $239,950.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 6,954 shares in the company, valued at approximately $667,444.92. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, EVP Brian Lieser sold 819 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, July 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $91.26, for a total transaction of $74,741.94. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 21,031 shares in the company, valued at $1,919,289.06. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 11,137 shares of company stock worth $1,095,457 in the last quarter. 1.59% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Belden

Hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Tidal Investments LLC lifted its stake in shares of Belden by 198.4% in the first quarter. Tidal Investments LLC now owns 12,286 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $1,138,000 after acquiring an additional 8,169 shares during the period. Gendell Jeffrey L boosted its stake in shares of Belden by 59.0% in the 4th quarter. Gendell Jeffrey L now owns 53,882 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $4,162,000 after purchasing an additional 20,000 shares in the last quarter. First Eagle Investment Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Belden by 8.0% during the first quarter. First Eagle Investment Management LLC now owns 99,291 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $9,195,000 after buying an additional 7,340 shares during the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP increased its stake in shares of Belden by 17.9% in the fourth quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 985,282 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $76,113,000 after buying an additional 149,263 shares during the period. Finally, Public Employees Retirement Association of Colorado increased its holdings in Belden by 1,724.8% during the 1st quarter. Public Employees Retirement Association of Colorado now owns 104,214 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $9,651,000 after purchasing an additional 98,503 shares during the period. 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.