Belden (NYSE:BDC) Hits New 1-Year High at $115.57

Shares of Belden Inc. (NYSE:BDC) reached a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Tuesday . The stock traded as high as $115.57 and last traded at $114.86, with a volume of 14864 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $113.94.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have recently commented on BDC. Vertical Research began coverage on shares of Belden in a report on Tuesday, July 23rd. They set a “buy” rating and a $110.00 price target on the stock. Truist Financial upped their price target on Belden from $123.00 to $124.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, August 2nd. Benchmark increased their price target on Belden from $115.00 to $120.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 18th. Finally, StockNews.com raised Belden from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, June 17th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $112.50.

Belden Stock Performance

The stock has a market capitalization of $4.68 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.41 and a beta of 1.07. The company has a current ratio of 1.70, a quick ratio of 1.25 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.95. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $100.29 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $94.31.

Belden (NYSE:BDC) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, August 1st. The industrial products company reported $1.51 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.37 by $0.14. Belden had a return on equity of 21.13% and a net margin of 8.51%. The business had revenue of $604.34 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $574.32 million. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $1.91 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 12.7% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts forecast that Belden Inc. will post 6.04 earnings per share for the current 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 given a dividend of $0.05 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, September 12th. This represents a $0.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.17%. Belden’s payout ratio is presently 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 completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 21,031 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,919,289.06. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. In other Belden news, EVP Brian Lieser sold 819 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, July 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $91.26, for a total value of $74,741.94. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 21,031 shares in the company, valued at $1,919,289.06. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director Nancy E. Calderon sold 2,500 shares of the business’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 value of $239,950.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 6,954 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $667,444.92. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 11,137 shares of company stock valued at $1,095,457 over the last ninety days. 1.59% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Belden

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. State of Michigan Retirement System boosted its holdings in Belden by 2.0% during the 1st quarter. State of Michigan Retirement System now owns 10,198 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $944,000 after acquiring an additional 200 shares during the last quarter. 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. Atlas Capital Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of Belden by 16.3% during the 2nd quarter. Atlas Capital Advisors LLC now owns 1,758 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $165,000 after purchasing an additional 246 shares in the last quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank grew its position in Belden by 3.0% during the second quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 9,286 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $871,000 after buying an additional 269 shares in the last quarter. Finally, ProShare Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of Belden by 3.1% in the first quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC now owns 9,524 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $882,000 after purchasing an additional 290 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.