Bel Fuse (NASDAQ:BELFB) Lifted to Buy at StockNews.com

StockNews.com upgraded shares of Bel Fuse (NASDAQ:BELFB) from a hold rating to a buy rating in a research note issued to investors on Friday.

Other analysts have also issued research reports about the company. Northland Securities started coverage on Bel Fuse in a research note on Thursday, January 11th. They set an outperform rating and a $83.00 price objective for the company. Needham & Company LLC dropped their price objective on Bel Fuse from $77.00 to $70.00 and set a buy rating for the company in a research note on Friday, February 23rd.

Bel Fuse Stock Down 4.7 %

Shares of BELFB opened at $57.91 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $738.76 million, a P/E ratio of 9.75 and a beta of 1.45. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $58.10 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $58.74. 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 has a 1 year low of $35.78 and a 1 year high of $74.75.

Bel Fuse (NASDAQ:BELFB) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, February 21st. The electronics maker reported $1.37 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.44 by ($0.07). The firm had revenue of $140.01 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $152.86 million. Bel Fuse had a return on equity of 24.03% and a net margin of 12.62%. On average, analysts forecast that Bel Fuse will post 4.7 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Bel Fuse Dividend Announcement

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 $0.07 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, April 12th. This represents a $0.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.48%. Bel Fuse’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 4.71%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

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

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Bel Fuse

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. International Assets Investment Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Bel Fuse during the fourth quarter valued at $6,041,000. Swiss National Bank purchased a new stake in shares of Bel Fuse during the third quarter valued at $1,117,000. Toronto Dominion Bank purchased a new stake in shares of Bel Fuse during the third quarter valued at $48,000. Gotham Asset Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Bel Fuse during the third quarter valued at $412,000. Finally, Strs Ohio boosted its position in shares of Bel Fuse by 757.1% during the third quarter. Strs Ohio now owns 6,000 shares of the electronics maker’s stock valued at $286,000 after buying an additional 5,300 shares during the last quarter. 58.39% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.