Belden (NYSE:BDC) Upgraded to Buy by StockNews.com

Belden (NYSE:BDC) was upgraded by equities researchers at StockNews.com from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note issued to investors on Thursday.

Separately, Truist Financial boosted their target price on Belden from $89.00 to $98.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, February 9th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $103.00.

Belden Stock Down 0.8 %

Belden stock traded down $0.68 during trading hours on Thursday, hitting $88.23. The stock had a trading volume of 278,817 shares, compared to its average volume of 234,599. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.59 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.26 and a beta of 1.07. The company has a quick ratio of 1.72, a current ratio of 2.55 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.02. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $87.12 and its 200-day moving average price is $78.22. Belden has a 12-month low of $60.54 and a 12-month high of $99.13.

Belden (NYSE:BDC) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 2nd. The industrial products company reported $1.24 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.05 by $0.19. Belden had a return on equity of 23.11% and a net margin of 9.01%. The business had revenue of $536.00 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $514.27 million. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $1.68 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down 16.5% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts anticipate that Belden will post 5.33 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, EVP Brian Lieser sold 2,056 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $82.30, for a total value of $169,208.80. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 21,772 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,791,835.60. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Insiders own 1.59% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Belden

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of BDC. Whittier Trust Co. grew its stake in shares of Belden by 662.2% during the 1st quarter. Whittier Trust Co. now owns 343 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $32,000 after acquiring an additional 298 shares during the period. BNP Paribas Financial Markets boosted its position in shares of Belden by 9.4% in the first quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 29,292 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $2,713,000 after purchasing an additional 2,507 shares during the period. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. increased its stake in shares of Belden by 11.6% in the first quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 105,684 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $9,787,000 after purchasing an additional 11,010 shares in the last quarter. Retirement Systems of Alabama raised its position in shares of Belden by 15.7% during the 1st quarter. Retirement Systems of Alabama now owns 244,364 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $22,631,000 after purchasing an additional 33,160 shares during the period. Finally, Principal Financial Group Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Belden by 2.0% during the 1st quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 171,484 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $15,881,000 after buying an additional 3,386 shares in the last quarter. 98.75% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.