Belden (NYSE:BDC) Hits New 12-Month High on Earnings Beat

Belden Inc. (NYSE:BDC)’s share price hit a new 52-week high during trading on Thursday following a stronger than expected earnings report. The company traded as high as $99.81 and last traded at $99.28, with a volume of 65243 shares. The stock had previously closed at $92.69.

The industrial products company reported $1.51 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.35 by $0.16. The business had revenue of $604.34 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $574.32 million. Belden had a return on equity of 21.13% and a net margin of 8.51%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 12.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $1.91 earnings per share.

Belden Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, July 9th. Investors of record on Thursday, June 13th were paid a $0.05 dividend. This represents a $0.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.20%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, June 13th. Belden’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 3.91%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

BDC has been the subject of several recent research reports. Truist Financial boosted their price target on Belden from $123.00 to $124.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday. Vertical Research assumed coverage on Belden in a research note on Tuesday, July 23rd. They issued a “buy” rating and a $110.00 price target for the company. Loop Capital boosted their price objective on shares of Belden from $100.00 to $115.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, May 17th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Belden from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, June 17th. Finally, Benchmark boosted their price objective on shares of Belden from $110.00 to $115.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $111.67.

Insider Transactions at Belden

In other Belden news, Director David J. Aldrich sold 6,700 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $97.19, for a total transaction of $651,173.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 53,396 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,189,557.24. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In other Belden news, EVP Brian Lieser sold 819 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, July 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $91.26, for a total transaction of $74,741.94. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 21,031 shares in the company, valued at $1,919,289.06. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director David J. Aldrich sold 6,700 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, May 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $97.19, for a total transaction of $651,173.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 53,396 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,189,557.24. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 10,219 shares of company stock worth $986,641. Corporate insiders own 1.59% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of BDC. Pacer Advisors Inc. grew its stake in shares of Belden by 26.2% in the 4th quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 8,114 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $627,000 after acquiring an additional 1,682 shares in the last quarter. Blue Trust Inc. grew its stake in shares of Belden by 31.9% in the 4th quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 1,079 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $83,000 after acquiring an additional 261 shares in the last quarter. State of Alaska Department of Revenue grew its stake in shares of Belden by 588.5% in the 4th quarter. State of Alaska Department of Revenue now owns 34,612 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $2,673,000 after acquiring an additional 29,585 shares in the last quarter. New York State Teachers Retirement System grew its stake in shares of Belden by 4.6% in the 4th quarter. New York State Teachers Retirement System now owns 66,569 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $5,142,000 after acquiring an additional 2,936 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Ceredex Value Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of Belden by 17.4% in the 4th quarter. Ceredex Value Advisors LLC now owns 186,600 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $14,424,000 after acquiring an additional 27,600 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 98.75% of the company’s stock.

Belden Stock Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.95, a quick ratio of 1.83 and a current ratio of 1.70. The stock has a market cap of $4.05 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.46 and a beta of 1.06. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $94.40 and its 200-day moving average price is $88.46.

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.