Belden (NYSE:BDC) Hits New 52-Week High Following Analyst Upgrade

Belden Inc. (NYSE:BDC) hit a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Wednesday after Benchmark raised their price target on the stock from $115.00 to $120.00. Benchmark currently has a buy rating on the stock. Belden traded as high as $109.00 and last traded at $108.83, with a volume of 139299 shares. The stock had previously closed at $106.29.

BDC has been the subject of several other research reports. StockNews.com raised shares of Belden from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, June 17th. Truist Financial upped their target price on shares of Belden from $123.00 to $124.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, August 2nd. Finally, Vertical Research began coverage on Belden in a report on Tuesday, July 23rd. They set a “buy” rating and a $110.00 price target on the stock. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $112.50.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director Nancy E. Calderon sold 2,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 5th. The shares were 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 $667,444.92. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. In related news, SVP Brian Edward Anderson sold 6,556 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $100.46, for a total transaction of $658,615.76. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 32,829 shares in the company, valued at $3,298,001.34. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, Director Nancy E. Calderon sold 2,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, August 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $95.98, for a total value of $239,950.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 6,954 shares in the company, valued at approximately $667,444.92. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 11,137 shares of company stock worth $1,095,457. 1.59% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Belden

A number of hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Opal Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Belden in the second quarter valued at $28,000. Whittier Trust Co. boosted its position in Belden by 662.2% during the 1st quarter. Whittier Trust Co. now owns 343 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $32,000 after acquiring an additional 298 shares during the period. Rise Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Belden during the 1st quarter valued at about $32,000. Quadrant Capital Group LLC increased its holdings in shares of Belden by 41.7% in the 4th quarter. Quadrant Capital Group LLC now owns 829 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $64,000 after purchasing an additional 244 shares during the period. Finally, Principal Securities Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Belden in the fourth quarter worth approximately $72,000. 98.75% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Belden Stock Performance

The firm’s fifty day moving average is $99.03 and its 200 day moving average is $93.67. The firm has a market capitalization of $4.34 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.06 and a beta of 1.07. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.95, a current ratio of 1.70 and a quick ratio of 1.25.

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

Belden Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, October 8th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, September 12th will be paid a $0.05 dividend. This represents a $0.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.19%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, September 12th. Belden’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 3.91%.

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.