Bel Fuse Inc. (NASDAQ:BELFB) Sees Large Drop in Short Interest

Bel Fuse Inc. (NASDAQ:BELFB) saw a large drop in short interest during the month of April. As of April 15th, there was short interest totalling 295,400 shares, a drop of 6.3% from the March 31st total of 315,100 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 128,500 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 2.3 days.

Bel Fuse Price Performance

NASDAQ:BELFB opened at $58.49 on Thursday. The firm has a market cap of $746.33 million, a PE ratio of 9.85 and a beta of 1.45. Bel Fuse has a 12 month low of $39.13 and a 12 month high of $74.75. The company has a quick ratio of 2.70, a current ratio of 4.21 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.17. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $57.34 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $58.91.

Bel Fuse (NASDAQ:BELFB) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 21st. The electronics maker reported $1.37 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.44 by ($0.07). The firm had revenue of $140.01 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $152.86 million. Bel Fuse had a net margin of 12.62% and a return on equity of 23.58%. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Bel Fuse will post 4.7 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Bel Fuse Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, May 1st. Shareholders of record on Monday, April 15th were paid a $0.07 dividend. This represents a $0.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.48%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, April 12th. Bel Fuse’s dividend payout ratio is presently 4.71%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Vincent Vellucci sold 1,000 shares of Bel Fuse stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $56.70, for a total transaction of $56,700.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 7,392 shares in the company, valued at approximately $419,126.40. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 5.37% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Bel Fuse

A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC raised its stake in shares of Bel Fuse by 4.4% in the fourth quarter. Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC now owns 4,700 shares of the electronics maker’s stock worth $314,000 after acquiring an additional 200 shares during the last quarter. Covestor Ltd raised its stake in shares of Bel Fuse by 26.5% in the third quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 1,012 shares of the electronics maker’s stock worth $48,000 after acquiring an additional 212 shares during the last quarter. Pinnacle Associates Ltd. raised its stake in shares of Bel Fuse by 0.7% during the third quarter. Pinnacle Associates Ltd. now owns 37,035 shares of the electronics maker’s stock worth $1,767,000 after buying an additional 250 shares during the last quarter. Investors Asset Management of Georgia Inc. GA ADV raised its stake in shares of Bel Fuse by 1.1% during the fourth quarter. Investors Asset Management of Georgia Inc. GA ADV now owns 55,464 shares of the electronics maker’s stock worth $3,693,000 after buying an additional 619 shares during the last quarter. Finally, New York State Teachers Retirement System raised its stake in shares of Bel Fuse by 373.5% during the first quarter. New York State Teachers Retirement System now owns 947 shares of the electronics maker’s stock worth $57,000 after buying an additional 747 shares during the last quarter. 58.39% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts have recently weighed in on BELFB shares. Needham & Company LLC decreased their target price on shares of Bel Fuse from $70.00 to $68.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Bel Fuse from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, April 26th. Finally, Northland Securities assumed coverage on shares of Bel Fuse in a research report on Thursday, January 11th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $83.00 price target on the stock.

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.