Belden (NYSE:BDC) Reaches New 12-Month High - Time to Buy?

Key Points

• Belden Inc shares reached a new 52-week high at $133.74, with recent trading reflecting strong investor interest and a volume of 230,076 shares.
• Research analysts have raised their price targets for Belden, with Benchmark setting a new target of $145.00 and a consensus rating of "Buy" across multiple analysts.
• Belden reported Q2 earnings of $1.89 EPS, exceeding expectations, and announced a quarterly dividend of $0.05 per share, demonstrating a stable financial outlook.

Shares of Belden Inc (NYSE:BDC - Get Free Report) reached a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Thursday . The company traded as high as $133.74 and last traded at $133.55, with a volume of 230076 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $129.88.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have recently commented on BDC shares. Benchmark increased their price objective on Belden from $130.00 to $145.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, August 1st. The Goldman Sachs Group reaffirmed a "buy" rating on shares of Belden in a report on Friday, July 11th. Finally, Wall Street Zen downgraded Belden from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Sunday, August 3rd. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Buy" and a consensus target price of $136.50.

Belden Price Performance

The firm has a market capitalization of $5.29 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.19 and a beta of 1.30. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $125.55 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $112.05. The company has a current ratio of 1.99, a quick ratio of 1.35 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.03.

Belden (NYSE:BDC - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 31st. The industrial products company reported $1.89 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.72 by $0.17. The firm had revenue of $671.99 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $654.82 million. Belden had a return on equity of 23.29% and a net margin of 8.60%.The firm's quarterly revenue was up 11.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company posted $1.51 EPS. Belden has set its Q3 2025 guidance at 1.850-1.950 EPS. As a group, research analysts forecast that Belden Inc will post 7.07 EPS for the current year.

Belden Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, October 7th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, September 11th will be issued a dividend of $0.05 per share. This represents a $0.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.1%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, September 11th. Belden's payout ratio is presently 3.62%.

Insider Activity

In other news, SVP Brian Edward Anderson sold 7,158 shares of Belden stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, July 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $130.51, for a total value of $934,190.58. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president owned 39,574 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,164,802.74. The trade was a 15.32% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Company insiders own 1.48% of the company's stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Belden

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. BNP Paribas Financial Markets lifted its position in Belden by 55.4% during the 4th quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 23,646 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $2,663,000 after buying an additional 8,429 shares in the last quarter. Bank of America Corp DE grew its holdings in shares of Belden by 234.7% during 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 buying an additional 157,335 shares during the last quarter. Baird Financial Group Inc. boosted its holdings in Belden by 4.9% during the fourth quarter. Baird Financial Group Inc. now owns 2,802 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $316,000 after purchasing an additional 130 shares during the last quarter. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. bought a new stake in shares of Belden in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $239,000. Finally, Cetera Investment Advisers increased its holdings in Belden by 22.2% during the 4th quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 3,636 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $409,000 after acquiring an additional 661 shares during the period. 98.75% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About Belden

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.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest and most accurate reporting. This story was reviewed by MarketBeat's editorial team prior to publication. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.