Belden (NYSE:BDC) Downgraded by Wall Street Zen to "Buy"

Belden (NYSE:BDC - Get Free Report) was downgraded by equities research analysts at Wall Street Zen from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note issued to investors on Saturday.

BDC has been the topic of a number of other reports. Benchmark boosted their target price on shares of Belden from $120.00 to $130.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Tuesday. The Goldman Sachs Group lowered their target price on shares of Belden from $139.00 to $120.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, April 10th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Buy" and a consensus price target of $128.20.

Belden Stock Performance

Shares of BDC stock opened at $109.92 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $4.34 billion, a PE ratio of 21.22 and a beta of 1.23. Belden has a 12 month low of $83.18 and a 12 month high of $131.82. The company's fifty day simple moving average is $105.83 and its 200-day simple moving average is $108.93. The company has a quick ratio of 1.29, a current ratio of 1.93 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.96.

Belden (NYSE:BDC - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, May 1st. The industrial products company reported $1.60 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.48 by $0.12. The business had revenue of $624.86 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $615.81 million. Belden had a net margin of 8.35% and a return on equity of 22.28%. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 16.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $1.24 earnings per share. Equities research analysts expect that Belden will post 7.07 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Belden

In other Belden news, SVP Leah Tate sold 231 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $113.64, for a total value of $26,250.84. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 30,170 shares in the company, valued at $3,428,518.80. The trade was a 0.76% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 1.48% of the company's stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Belden

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of BDC. Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of Belden in the fourth quarter valued at about $54,167,000. Invesco Ltd. grew its stake in shares of Belden by 37.2% in the first quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 1,024,497 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $102,706,000 after acquiring an additional 277,782 shares in the last quarter. FMR LLC grew its stake in shares of Belden by 5.0% in the fourth quarter. FMR LLC now owns 4,710,224 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $530,418,000 after acquiring an additional 223,887 shares in the last quarter. Leigh Baldwin & CO. LLC acquired a new position in shares of Belden in the fourth quarter valued at about $2,511,000. Finally, Bank of America Corp DE grew its stake in shares of Belden by 234.7% in the fourth quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 224,363 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $25,266,000 after acquiring an additional 157,335 shares in the last quarter. 98.75% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.

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