Bel Fuse Inc. (NASDAQ:BELFB) Short Interest Update

Bel Fuse Inc. (NASDAQ:BELFB) was the target of a significant growth in short interest in March. As of March 31st, there was short interest totalling 315,100 shares, a growth of 28.7% from the March 15th total of 244,900 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 128,500 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 2.5 days.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Vincent Vellucci sold 1,000 shares of Bel Fuse stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $56.70, for a total value of $56,700.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 7,392 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $419,126.40. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 5.37% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Bel Fuse

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Financial Management Professionals Inc. bought a new position in shares of Bel Fuse during the third quarter valued at about $29,000. Lazard Asset Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Bel Fuse by 1,481.9% in the 1st quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC now owns 1,835 shares of the electronics maker’s stock worth $32,000 after purchasing an additional 1,719 shares in the last quarter. Belpointe Asset Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Bel Fuse in the first quarter worth approximately $33,000. UBS Group AG lifted its holdings in Bel Fuse by 105.1% in the 1st quarter. UBS Group AG now owns 2,053 shares of the electronics maker’s stock worth $37,000 after purchasing an additional 1,052 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Citigroup Inc. bought a new position in shares of Bel Fuse during the 1st quarter valued at about $39,000. Institutional investors own 58.39% of the company’s stock.

Bel Fuse Trading Down 0.8 %

BELFB opened at $58.54 on Monday. The firm has a market capitalization of $746.97 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.04 and a beta of 1.44. Bel Fuse has a fifty-two week low of $30.11 and a fifty-two week high of $74.75. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $60.59 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $58.04. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.18, a current ratio of 3.45 and a quick ratio of 2.21.

Bel Fuse (NASDAQ:BELFB) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, February 21st. The electronics maker reported $1.37 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.44 by ($0.07). Bel Fuse had a net margin of 11.54% and a return on equity of 24.87%. The company had revenue of $140.01 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $152.86 million. As a group, research analysts predict that Bel Fuse will post 4.7 earnings per share for the current year.

Bel Fuse Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 1st. Shareholders of record on Monday, April 15th will be issued a dividend of $0.07 per share. This represents a $0.28 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.48%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, April 12th. Bel Fuse’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 4.80%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have recently issued reports on BELFB shares. Needham & Company LLC cut their target price on shares of Bel Fuse from $77.00 to $70.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, February 23rd. StockNews.com cut Bel Fuse from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 10th. Finally, Northland Securities initiated coverage on shares of Bel Fuse in a research note on Thursday, January 11th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $83.00 price objective for the company.

About Bel Fuse

Bel Fuse Inc designs, manufactures, markets, and sells products that are used in the networking, telecommunications, computing, general industrial, high-speed data transmission, military, commercial aerospace, transportation, and e-Mobility industries in the United States, the People's Republic of China, Macao, the United Kingdom, Slovakia, Germany, India, Switzerland, and internationally.