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

Bel Fuse Inc. (NASDAQ:BELFB)’s share price gapped down prior to trading 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 trading hands.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

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

Bel Fuse Stock Performance

The company has a quick ratio of 2.21, a current ratio of 3.45 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.18. The stock has a market cap of $738.93 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.10 and a beta of 1.45. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $58.42 and a 200 day simple moving average of $58.55.

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

Bel Fuse Dividend Announcement

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

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Vincent Vellucci sold 1,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 of the company’s stock, valued at $419,126.40. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. 5.37% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC raised its holdings in Bel Fuse by 4.4% during the 4th quarter. Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC now owns 4,700 shares of the electronics maker’s stock worth $314,000 after purchasing an additional 200 shares during the last quarter. Covestor Ltd raised its holdings in Bel Fuse by 26.5% during the 3rd quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 1,012 shares of the electronics maker’s stock worth $48,000 after purchasing an additional 212 shares during the last quarter. Pinnacle Associates Ltd. raised its holdings in Bel Fuse by 0.7% during the 3rd quarter. Pinnacle Associates Ltd. now owns 37,035 shares of the electronics maker’s stock worth $1,767,000 after purchasing an additional 250 shares during the last quarter. Investors Asset Management of Georgia Inc. GA ADV raised its holdings in Bel Fuse by 1.1% during the 4th 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 purchasing an additional 619 shares during the last quarter. Finally, New York State Teachers Retirement System grew its position in shares of Bel Fuse by 373.5% during the 1st 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 period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 58.39% of the company’s stock.

Bel Fuse Company Profile

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.