Belden Inc. (NYSE:BDC) Receives Average Recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from Brokerages

Belden Inc. (NYSE:BDC) has been given an average rating of “Moderate Buy” by the seven ratings firms that are presently covering the firm, Marketbeat Ratings reports. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating on the company. The average 1-year price objective among brokerages that have covered the stock in the last year is $111.67.

BDC has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Truist Financial boosted their price objective on Belden from $123.00 to $124.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, August 2nd. Vertical Research initiated coverage on Belden in a report on Tuesday, July 23rd. They set a “buy” rating and a $110.00 price objective for the company. Loop Capital upped their target price on Belden from $100.00 to $115.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, May 17th. StockNews.com raised Belden from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, June 17th. Finally, Benchmark upped their target price on Belden from $110.00 to $115.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, August 2nd.

Belden Trading Down 2.8 %

Shares of BDC opened at $99.36 on Monday. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $97.61 and its 200-day moving average price is $92.66. Belden has a twelve month low of $60.54 and a twelve month high of $108.64. The stock has a market cap of $4.04 billion, a PE ratio of 19.44 and a beta of 1.07. The company has a quick ratio of 1.25, a current ratio of 1.70 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.95.

Belden (NYSE:BDC) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 1st. The industrial products company reported $1.51 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.37 by $0.14. Belden had a return on equity of 21.13% and a net margin of 8.51%. The firm had revenue of $604.34 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $574.32 million. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $1.91 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was down 12.7% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts forecast that Belden will post 6.04 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Belden Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, October 8th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, September 12th will be paid a dividend of $0.05 per share. This represents a $0.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.20%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, September 12th. Belden’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 3.91%.

Insider Activity

In other news, SVP Brian Edward Anderson sold 6,556 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $100.46, for a total value of $658,615.76. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 32,829 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,298,001.34. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. In other Belden news, Director Nancy E. Calderon sold 2,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, August 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $95.98, for a total transaction of $239,950.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 6,954 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $667,444.92. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, SVP Brian Edward Anderson sold 6,556 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $100.46, for a total transaction of $658,615.76. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 32,829 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,298,001.34. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 12,744 shares of company stock valued at $1,251,802. 1.59% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in BDC. Norges Bank purchased a new position in Belden in the fourth quarter worth about $35,403,000. Pzena Investment Management LLC raised its holdings in Belden by 32.5% in the 4th quarter. Pzena Investment Management LLC now owns 914,924 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $70,678,000 after acquiring an additional 224,486 shares during the last quarter. Channing Capital Management LLC lifted its position in Belden by 29.4% in the 4th quarter. Channing Capital Management LLC now owns 919,066 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $70,998,000 after acquiring an additional 209,052 shares in the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP boosted its stake in Belden by 17.9% during the 4th quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 985,282 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $76,113,000 after purchasing an additional 149,263 shares during the last quarter. Finally, F M Investments LLC bought a new stake in shares of Belden in the 2nd quarter worth $12,659,000. Institutional investors own 98.75% of the company’s stock.

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.