Bel Fuse Inc. (NASDAQ:BELFB) Receives Consensus Recommendation of "Buy" from Brokerages

Key Points

• Bel Fuse Inc. has received a consensus rating of "Buy" from seven research firms, with an average twelve-month target price of $138.40.
• The company recently increased its quarterly dividend from $0.06 to $0.07, reflecting a dividend yield of 0.2%.
• Insider trading activity included Vice President Kenneth Koon Keung Lai selling 1,900 shares, representing a 15.63% decrease in his ownership of the company's stock.

Bel Fuse Inc. (NASDAQ:BELFB - Get Free Report) has been assigned a consensus rating of "Buy" from the seven research firms that are presently covering the firm, MarketBeat.com reports. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a buy recommendation and one has assigned a strong buy recommendation to the company. The average twelve-month target price among analysts that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $138.40.

A number of research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Northland Securities lifted their price objective on shares of Bel Fuse from $93.00 to $110.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Monday, June 30th. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Bel Fuse from a "buy" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Monday, October 6th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a "buy (b-)" rating on shares of Bel Fuse in a research note on Wednesday. Robert W. Baird lifted their price objective on shares of Bel Fuse from $154.00 to $162.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Friday. Finally, Needham & Company LLC lifted their price objective on shares of Bel Fuse from $116.00 to $130.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, July 25th.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Bel Fuse news, VP Kenneth Koon Keung Lai sold 1,900 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Friday, August 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $128.00, for a total value of $243,200.00. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president directly owned 10,255 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,312,640. The trade was a 15.63% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, insider Stephen Dawson sold 1,200 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, July 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $127.07, for a total transaction of $152,484.00. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 14,265 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,812,653.55. This trade represents a 7.76% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 5.37% of the company's stock.

Institutional Trading of Bel Fuse

A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Bel Fuse by 1.4% during the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 917,097 shares of the electronics maker's stock worth $68,654,000 after purchasing an additional 12,808 shares during the period. American Century Companies Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Bel Fuse by 1.5% during the first quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 357,131 shares of the electronics maker's stock worth $26,735,000 after purchasing an additional 5,376 shares during the period. Bessemer Group Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Bel Fuse by 28.3% during the second quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 325,800 shares of the electronics maker's stock worth $31,827,000 after purchasing an additional 71,895 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its stake in Bel Fuse by 2.6% in the second quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 321,922 shares of the electronics maker's stock worth $31,451,000 after buying an additional 8,243 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Wasatch Advisors LP raised its stake in Bel Fuse by 33.6% in the second quarter. Wasatch Advisors LP now owns 284,014 shares of the electronics maker's stock worth $27,745,000 after buying an additional 71,390 shares in the last quarter. 58.39% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Bel Fuse Trading Down 3.6%

Shares of BELFB stock opened at $137.73 on Friday. The company has a 50 day moving average of $138.83 and a 200-day moving average of $102.56. The company has a quick ratio of 1.72, a current ratio of 3.05 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.63. Bel Fuse has a 12-month low of $57.99 and a 12-month high of $152.45. The firm has a market cap of $1.74 billion, a P/E ratio of 33.76, a PEG ratio of 1.74 and a beta of 1.55.

Bel Fuse Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, October 31st. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, October 15th will be issued a dividend of $0.07 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, October 15th. This represents a $0.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.2%. This is an increase from Bel Fuse's previous quarterly dividend of $0.06. Bel Fuse's payout ratio is presently 6.86%.

About Bel Fuse

Bel Fuse Inc designs, manufactures, markets, and sells products that power, protect, and connect electronic circuits. The company's products are used in the networking, telecommunications, computing, general industrial, high-speed data transmission, military, commercial aerospace, transportation, and e-Mobility industries.

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