Aristides Capital LLC Purchases Shares of 2,999 Bel Fuse Inc. $BELFB

Key Points

• Aristides Capital LLC has acquired 2,999 shares of Bel Fuse Inc. for approximately $225,000, adding to a wave of new investments from other hedge funds in the company.
• Bel Fuse recently declared a quarterly dividend increase from $0.06 to $0.07 per share, representing an annualized payout of $0.28 and a yield of 0.2%.
• Analysts have a consensus rating of "Buy" for Bel Fuse shares, with a price target adjustment reflecting potential growth, increasing to $130.00 from previous estimates.

Aristides Capital LLC purchased a new position in Bel Fuse Inc. (NASDAQ:BELFB - Free Report) in the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm purchased 2,999 shares of the electronics maker's stock, valued at approximately $225,000.

Several other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Principal Financial Group Inc. grew its stake in shares of Bel Fuse by 4.5% in the 1st quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 4,411 shares of the electronics maker's stock worth $330,000 after buying an additional 189 shares during the last quarter. CWM LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Bel Fuse by 147.1% during the 1st quarter. CWM LLC now owns 383 shares of the electronics maker's stock valued at $29,000 after buying an additional 228 shares during the period. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. lifted its holdings in shares of Bel Fuse by 4.1% during the 4th quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 5,887 shares of the electronics maker's stock valued at $486,000 after buying an additional 234 shares during the period. Mackenzie Financial Corp lifted its holdings in shares of Bel Fuse by 5.1% during the 1st quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp now owns 6,584 shares of the electronics maker's stock valued at $493,000 after buying an additional 320 shares during the period. Finally, Bridgeway Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Bel Fuse by 4.8% during the 4th quarter. Bridgeway Capital Management LLC now owns 11,506 shares of the electronics maker's stock valued at $949,000 after buying an additional 523 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 58.39% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

BELFB has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Robert W. Baird initiated coverage on shares of Bel Fuse in a research note on Tuesday, June 10th. They set an "outperform" rating and a $88.00 price target for the company. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Bel Fuse from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Saturday, August 23rd. Oppenheimer set a $125.00 price objective on shares of Bel Fuse and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Wednesday, July 2nd. 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 report on Friday, July 25th. Finally, Baird R W raised shares of Bel Fuse to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, June 10th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating and five have issued a Buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Buy" and a consensus price target of $113.60.

Bel Fuse Price Performance

BELFB stock traded down $1.73 during trading on Friday, reaching $134.56. 90,388 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 143,158. The company has a market cap of $1.70 billion, a P/E ratio of 32.98, a PEG ratio of 1.74 and a beta of 1.52. Bel Fuse Inc. has a 52-week low of $57.99 and a 52-week high of $141.80. The stock's 50 day moving average price is $116.10 and its 200 day moving average price is $89.60. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.63, a quick ratio of 1.72 and a current ratio of 3.05.

Bel Fuse Increases Dividend

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

Insider Activity at Bel Fuse

In other news, insider Stephen Dawson sold 1,200 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Thursday, July 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $127.07, for a total value of $152,484.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 14,265 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,812,653.55. This represents a 7.76% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, VP Kenneth Koon Keung Lai sold 1,900 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Friday, August 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $128.00, for a total transaction of $243,200.00. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president directly owned 10,255 shares in the company, valued at $1,312,640. This represents a 15.63% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 7,100 shares of company stock valued at $731,804. 5.37% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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.