Short Interest in Bel Fuse Inc. (NASDAQ:BELFA) Expands By 14.1%

Key Points

• Short interest rose 14.1% in April to 47,107 shares (about 0.4% of shares), leaving a short-interest ratio of just 0.5 days based on average daily volume.
• Bel Fuse beat Q1 estimates with EPS of $1.72 vs. $1.62 expected and revenue of $178.49M vs. $172.07M, and the stock was trading up ~6.1% near a 52‑week high around $255.
• Insider sales were material: CEO Farouq Salem Ali Tuweiq sold 33,967 shares for roughly $7.95M and a director sold 4,500 shares; insiders now own about 4.75% of the company.

Bel Fuse Inc. (NASDAQ:BELFA - Get Free Report) was the recipient of a significant increase in short interest during the month of April. As of April 15th, there was short interest totaling 47,107 shares, an increase of 14.1% from the March 31st total of 41,277 shares. Currently, 0.4% of the shares of the stock are short sold. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 102,112 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 0.5 days.

Bel Fuse Trading Up 6.1%

Shares of BELFA opened at $243.45 on Friday. The company's fifty day moving average is $206.51 and its 200 day moving average is $173.99. Bel Fuse has a fifty-two week low of $61.70 and a fifty-two week high of $255.04. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.08 billion, a PE ratio of 58.66 and a beta of 1.25. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.46, a quick ratio of 1.71 and a current ratio of 3.02.

Bel Fuse (NASDAQ:BELFA - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 29th. The scientific and technical instruments company reported $1.72 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.62 by $0.10. Bel Fuse had a net margin of 7.84% and a return on equity of 22.64%. The business had revenue of $178.49 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $172.07 million.

Bel Fuse Announces Dividend

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages recently weighed in on BELFA. Robert W. Baird set a $250.00 price target on shares of Bel Fuse in a research report on Thursday, February 19th. Weiss Ratings cut shares of Bel Fuse from a "buy (b-)" rating to a "hold (c)" rating in a research report on Thursday, February 26th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating and one has given a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Bel Fuse currently has an average rating of "Buy" and an average price target of $250.00.

Insider Activity at Bel Fuse

In other news, CEO Farouq Salem Ali Tuweiq sold 33,967 shares of Bel Fuse stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $234.00, for a total transaction of $7,948,278.00. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director Peter E. Gilbert sold 4,500 shares of Bel Fuse stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $238.75, for a total transaction of $1,074,375.00. Following the sale, the director owned 15,047 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,592,471.25. The trade was a 23.02% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Company insiders own 4.75% of the company's stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. BNP Paribas Financial Markets increased its position in Bel Fuse by 92.2% during the third quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 319 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock valued at $37,000 after acquiring an additional 153 shares during the last quarter. Sunbelt Securities Inc. bought a new position in Bel Fuse during the fourth quarter valued at $61,000. Deutsche Bank AG bought a new position in Bel Fuse during the fourth quarter valued at $111,000. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC increased its position in Bel Fuse by 447.1% during the second quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC now owns 744 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock valued at $67,000 after acquiring an additional 608 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Abel Hall LLC bought a new position in Bel Fuse during the first quarter valued at $205,000. Institutional investors own 6.01% of the company's stock.

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.

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