Bel Fuse (NASDAQ:BELFA) Reaches New 52-Week High - What's Next?

Key Points

• 52-week high: Bel Fuse shares reached a new 52-week high near $250 (last at $249.65), and the stock carries an average analyst target of $250 with a consensus rating of "Buy".
• Earnings beat: The company reported quarterly EPS of $1.88 versus $1.10 expected and revenue of $175.94M, with a net margin of 9.11% and ROE of 21.78%.
• Insider activity & dividend: The CEO and a director sold sizable blocks of shares in February, while Bel Fuse declared a $0.06 quarterly dividend (annualized yield ~0.1%) and insiders own about 4.75% of the stock.

Bel Fuse Inc. (NASDAQ:BELFA - Get Free Report)'s share price reached a new 52-week high on Thursday . The company traded as high as $244.82 and last traded at $249.6510, with a volume of 6125 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $241.57.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on BELFA shares. Robert W. Baird set a $250.00 price objective on Bel Fuse in a research report on Thursday, February 19th. Weiss Ratings lowered Bel Fuse from a "buy (b-)" rating to a "hold (c)" rating in a research report on Thursday, February 26th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating and one has assigned a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Buy" and an average target price of $250.00.

Bel Fuse Price Performance

The company's fifty day moving average is $203.53 and its two-hundred day moving average is $169.22. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.18 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 54.06 and a beta of 1.25. The company has a quick ratio of 1.71, a current ratio of 3.02 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.46.

Bel Fuse (NASDAQ:BELFA - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 17th. The scientific and technical instruments company reported $1.88 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.10 by $0.78. Bel Fuse had a net margin of 9.11% and a return on equity of 21.78%. The business had revenue of $175.94 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $172.01 million.

Bel Fuse Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 1st. Investors of record on Wednesday, April 15th will be issued a $0.06 dividend. This represents a $0.24 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.1%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, April 15th. Bel Fuse's dividend payout ratio is currently 5.16%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Bel Fuse

In other Bel Fuse news, Director Peter E. Gilbert sold 4,500 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $238.75, for a total value of $1,074,375.00. Following the sale, the director directly owned 15,047 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,592,471.25. This trade represents a 23.02% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CEO Farouq Salem Ali Tuweiq sold 33,967 shares of the stock in a transaction 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 disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Company insiders own 4.75% of the company's stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Bel Fuse

Hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its position in shares of Bel Fuse by 13.9% during the third quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 52,614 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock worth $6,122,000 after acquiring an additional 6,408 shares in the last quarter. Hound Partners LLC bought a new stake in shares of Bel Fuse during the fourth quarter worth $5,714,000. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its position in shares of Bel Fuse by 7.7% during the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 37,606 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock worth $5,709,000 after acquiring an additional 2,674 shares in the last quarter. Investors Asset Management of Georgia Inc. GA ADV increased its position in shares of Bel Fuse by 0.4% during the third quarter. Investors Asset Management of Georgia Inc. GA ADV now owns 26,151 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock worth $3,043,000 after acquiring an additional 100 shares in the last quarter. Finally, State Street Corp increased its position in shares of Bel Fuse by 1.8% during the fourth quarter. State Street Corp now owns 21,706 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock worth $3,295,000 after acquiring an additional 378 shares in the last quarter. 6.01% of the stock is currently 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.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.