Bel Fuse Inc. (NASDAQ:BELFA) Short Interest Update

Bel Fuse Inc. (NASDAQ:BELFA) was the target of a significant increase in short interest in March. As of March 13th, there was short interest totaling 39,338 shares, an increase of 51.7% from the February 26th total of 25,927 shares. Currently, 0.3% of the shares of the company are sold short. Based on an average trading volume of 73,211 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 0.5 days.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms recently commented on BELFA. Weiss Ratings lowered Bel Fuse from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “hold (c)” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 26th. Robert W. Baird set a $250.00 price objective on Bel Fuse in a report on Thursday, February 19th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating and one has assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Bel Fuse currently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $250.00.

Bel Fuse Price Performance

BELFA opened at $190.65 on Friday. Bel Fuse has a twelve month low of $53.95 and a twelve month high of $227.42. The firm has a market cap of $2.41 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 41.00 and a beta of 1.19. The company has a current ratio of 3.02, a quick ratio of 1.71 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.46. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $197.53 and a 200 day simple moving average of $157.42.

Bel Fuse (NASDAQ:BELFA) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 17th. The scientific and technical instruments company reported $1.88 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.10 by $0.78. The firm had revenue of $175.94 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $172.01 million. Bel Fuse had a net margin of 9.11% and a return on equity of 21.78%.

Bel Fuse Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 1st. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, April 15th will be given a $0.06 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, April 15th. This represents a $0.24 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.1%. Bel Fuse’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 5.16%.

Insider Activity at Bel Fuse

In other news, CEO Farouq Salem Ali Tuweiq sold 33,967 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $234.00, for a total transaction of $7,948,278.00. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Peter E. Gilbert sold 4,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $238.75, for a total transaction of $1,074,375.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 15,047 shares in the company, valued at $3,592,471.25. This trade represents a 23.02% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders own 5.46% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Bel Fuse

Large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. BNP Paribas Financial Markets raised its stake in shares of Bel Fuse by 92.2% in the 3rd quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 319 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $37,000 after buying an additional 153 shares in the last quarter. Sunbelt Securities Inc. bought a new position in Bel Fuse during the fourth quarter valued at about $61,000. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC grew its holdings in Bel Fuse by 447.1% during the second quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC now owns 744 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $67,000 after acquiring an additional 608 shares during the period. Deutsche Bank AG bought a new stake in Bel Fuse in the fourth quarter worth about $111,000. Finally, Rhumbline Advisers raised its position in Bel Fuse by 41.5% in the first quarter. Rhumbline Advisers now owns 2,613 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $188,000 after acquiring an additional 767 shares in the last quarter. 6.01% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Bel Fuse Company Profile

Bel Fuse Inc, incorporated in 1949 and headquartered in Jersey City, New Jersey, designs and manufactures a broad range of electronic components aimed at ensuring reliable power delivery, circuit protection and signal connectivity. The company operates through two primary segments—Power Solutions Group and Telecom Products Group—serving original equipment manufacturers in multiple end markets, including telecommunications, data communications, consumer electronics, industrial and transportation.

Within its Power Solutions Group, Bel Fuse offers magnetic components such as power and signal transformers, inductors and coils, as well as circuit protection devices including fuses and resettable polyfuses.