Belden Inc. (NYSE:BDC) Given Consensus Rating of “Buy” by Analysts

Belden Inc. (NYSE:BDC) has earned an average rating of “Buy” from the five brokerages that are covering the firm, Marketbeat.com reports. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating. The average twelve-month target price among analysts that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $126.20.

A number of research firms have commented on BDC. Loop Capital reduced their price target on Belden from $155.00 to $145.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, February 11th. The Goldman Sachs Group reduced their price target on Belden from $139.00 to $120.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, April 10th. Wall Street Zen lowered Belden from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 14th. Finally, Benchmark reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $120.00 price target on shares of Belden in a research report on Monday, May 5th.

Belden Trading Down 0.6%

Shares of BDC stock opened at $107.48 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $4.25 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.35 and a beta of 1.24. Belden has a twelve month low of $83.18 and a twelve month high of $131.82. The company has a quick ratio of 1.37, a current ratio of 1.92 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.87. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $101.84 and its 200 day simple moving average is $110.28.

Belden (NYSE:BDC) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 1st. The industrial products company reported $1.60 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.48 by $0.12. Belden had a return on equity of 21.42% and a net margin of 8.06%. The firm had revenue of $624.86 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $615.81 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $1.24 EPS. The business’s revenue was up 16.6% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Belden will post 7.07 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Belden Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, July 9th. Investors of record on Thursday, June 12th will be paid a dividend of $0.05 per share. This represents a $0.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.19%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, June 12th. Belden’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 3.86%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Gregory James Mccray sold 4,200 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $105.21, for a total transaction of $441,882.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 4,199 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $441,776.79. This represents a 50.01% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, SVP Leah Tate sold 231 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $113.64, for a total value of $26,250.84. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 30,170 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,428,518.80. This trade represents a 0.76% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 1.48% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Belden

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in BDC. Aster Capital Management DIFC Ltd bought a new position in shares of Belden in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Opal Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Belden in the first quarter valued at approximately $35,000. Quarry LP grew its holdings in shares of Belden by 208.7% in the fourth quarter. Quarry LP now owns 392 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $44,000 after acquiring an additional 265 shares in the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its holdings in shares of Belden by 34.7% in the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 446 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $45,000 after acquiring an additional 115 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Banque Cantonale Vaudoise bought a new position in shares of Belden in the first quarter valued at approximately $47,000. 98.75% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.