StockNews.com Lowers Belden (NYSE:BDC) to Hold

StockNews.com downgraded shares of Belden (NYSE:BDC) from a buy rating to a hold rating in a report published on Monday.

Separately, Truist Financial increased their price objective on Belden from $89.00 to $98.00 and gave the stock a buy rating in a report on Friday, February 9th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus price target of $102.25.

Belden Trading Down 1.2 %

NYSE:BDC opened at $83.25 on Monday. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $86.90 and its 200 day moving average price is $78.34. Belden has a 52 week low of $60.54 and a 52 week high of $99.13. The company has a market capitalization of $3.38 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.71 and a beta of 1.04. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.03, a quick ratio of 1.72 and a current ratio of 2.30.

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

Belden Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, April 9th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, March 14th were issued a dividend of $0.05 per share. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, March 13th. This represents a $0.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.24%. Belden’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 3.53%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Belden

In other news, EVP Brian Lieser sold 2,056 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred 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 directly owns 21,772 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,791,835.60. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 1.42% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Belden

Hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. Rise Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Belden in the first quarter valued at approximately $32,000. Quadrant Capital Group LLC boosted its position in shares of Belden by 41.7% in the fourth quarter. Quadrant Capital Group LLC now owns 829 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $64,000 after acquiring an additional 244 shares during the period. Principal Securities Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Belden in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $72,000. Ronald Blue Trust Inc. lifted its position in Belden by 326.0% in the third quarter. Ronald Blue Trust Inc. now owns 818 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $78,000 after purchasing an additional 626 shares during the period. Finally, TFO Wealth Partners LLC lifted its position in Belden by 33,500.0% in the fourth quarter. TFO Wealth Partners LLC now owns 1,008 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $78,000 after purchasing an additional 1,005 shares during the period. 98.75% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.