Bel Fuse (NASDAQ:BELFB) Shares Gap Down to $60.78

Bel Fuse Inc. (NASDAQ:BELFB)’s share price gapped down before the market opened on Friday . The stock had previously closed at $60.78, but opened at $58.61. Bel Fuse shares last traded at $60.70, with a volume of 58,880 shares traded.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on BELFB shares. Needham & Company LLC lowered their price objective on Bel Fuse from $77.00 to $70.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, February 23rd. StockNews.com raised Bel Fuse from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday. Finally, 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 on the stock.

Bel Fuse Price Performance

The company has a current ratio of 3.45, a quick ratio of 2.21 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.18. The stock has a market cap of $738.93 million, a PE ratio of 9.75 and a beta of 1.45. The company has a fifty day moving average of $58.10 and a 200-day moving average of $58.68.

Bel Fuse (NASDAQ:BELFB) last posted its quarterly earnings data 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). Bel Fuse had a net margin of 12.62% and a return on equity of 24.03%. The firm had revenue of $140.01 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $152.86 million. Sell-side analysts expect that Bel Fuse Inc. will post 4.7 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Bel Fuse Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared 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. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, April 12th. This represents a $0.28 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.48%. Bel Fuse’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 4.71%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

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

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. New York State Teachers Retirement System boosted its position in shares of Bel Fuse by 373.5% in the 1st quarter. New York State Teachers Retirement System now owns 947 shares of the electronics maker’s stock valued at $57,000 after purchasing an additional 747 shares during the period. Toronto Dominion Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Bel Fuse in the 3rd quarter valued at about $48,000. Covestor Ltd boosted its position in shares of Bel Fuse by 26.5% in the 3rd quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 1,012 shares of the electronics maker’s stock valued at $48,000 after purchasing an additional 212 shares during the period. AJOVista LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Bel Fuse in the 4th quarter valued at about $73,000. Finally, National Bank of Canada FI acquired a new stake in shares of Bel Fuse in the 4th quarter valued at about $78,000. 58.39% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.