Belden Inc. (NYSE:BDC) Sees Significant Decline in Short Interest

Belden Inc. (NYSE:BDC - Get Free Report) was the target of a significant drop in short interest in May. As of May 15th, there was short interest totalling 987,100 shares, a drop of 19.1% from the April 30th total of 1,220,000 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 295,500 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 3.3 days. Approximately 2.5% of the company's stock are sold short.

Belden Trading Up 3.7%

NYSE BDC traded up $3.84 during trading on Tuesday, hitting $108.48. 236,520 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 274,718. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $101.83 and a two-hundred day moving average of $109.91. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.87, a current ratio of 1.92 and a quick ratio of 1.37. Belden has a 12-month low of $83.18 and a 12-month high of $131.82. The firm has a market cap of $4.28 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.55 and a beta of 1.24.

Belden (NYSE:BDC - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, May 1st. The industrial products company reported $1.60 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.48 by $0.12. The firm had revenue of $624.86 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $615.81 million. Belden had a net margin of 8.06% and a return on equity of 21.42%. The company's quarterly revenue was up 16.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company posted $1.24 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Belden will post 7.07 EPS for the current year.

Belden Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, July 9th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, June 12th will be given a $0.05 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, June 12th. This represents a $0.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.18%. Belden's payout ratio is currently 3.86%.

Insider Buying and Selling

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

Institutional Trading of Belden

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of BDC. Xponance Inc. grew its stake in Belden by 1.7% in the 1st quarter. Xponance Inc. now owns 5,839 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $585,000 after acquiring an additional 99 shares in the last quarter. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System lifted its holdings in shares of Belden by 0.9% in the 1st quarter. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System now owns 11,300 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $1,133,000 after buying an additional 100 shares during the period. Principal Securities Inc. grew its position in shares of Belden by 9.6% during the 4th quarter. Principal Securities Inc. now owns 1,202 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $135,000 after acquiring an additional 105 shares during the period. State of Alaska Department of Revenue grew its stake in Belden by 0.3% in the 1st quarter. State of Alaska Department of Revenue now owns 34,717 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $3,479,000 after acquiring an additional 115 shares during the period. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC increased its stake in Belden by 34.7% during the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 446 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $45,000 after buying an additional 115 shares in the last quarter. 98.75% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages recently weighed in on BDC. The Goldman Sachs Group reduced their price objective 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. Benchmark reissued a "buy" rating and set a $120.00 target price on shares of Belden in a research note on Monday, May 5th. Finally, Loop Capital lowered their target price on Belden from $155.00 to $145.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, February 11th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Buy" and an average target price of $126.20.

Belden Company Profile

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.