Belden Inc. (NYSE:BDC) Short Interest Up 6.8% in September

Belden Inc. (NYSE:BDC) was the recipient of a large increase in short interest during the month of September. As of September 15th, there was short interest totalling 997,400 shares, an increase of 6.8% from the August 31st total of 933,500 shares. Currently, 2.5% of the shares of the company are short sold. Based on an average daily volume of 282,600 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 3.5 days.

Insider Activity at Belden

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 shares were sold at an average price of $95.98, for a total transaction of $239,950.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 6,954 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $667,444.92. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. In other news, EVP Brian Lieser sold 819 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, July 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $91.26, for a total transaction of $74,741.94. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 21,031 shares in the company, valued at $1,919,289.06. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director Nancy E. Calderon sold 2,500 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, August 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $95.98, for a total value of $239,950.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 6,954 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $667,444.92. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 11,137 shares of company stock worth $1,095,457 in the last 90 days. 1.59% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Belden

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. State of Michigan Retirement System grew its position in Belden by 2.0% during the 1st quarter. State of Michigan Retirement System now owns 10,198 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $944,000 after purchasing an additional 200 shares in the last quarter. Atlas Capital Advisors LLC increased its position in Belden by 16.3% during the second quarter. Atlas Capital Advisors LLC now owns 1,758 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $165,000 after acquiring an additional 246 shares during the period. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank raised its position in shares of Belden by 3.0% during the second quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 9,286 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $871,000 after buying an additional 269 shares during the last quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of Belden by 3.1% in the 1st quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC now owns 9,524 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $882,000 after acquiring an additional 290 shares during the period. Finally, Covestor Ltd increased its holdings in Belden by 33.9% in the 1st quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 1,166 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $108,000 after buying an additional 295 shares during the period. 98.75% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Belden Stock Down 0.9 %

Shares of Belden stock opened at $116.07 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.95, a current ratio of 1.70 and a quick ratio of 1.25. Belden has a 1-year low of $60.54 and a 1-year high of $118.26. The business has a 50-day moving average of $102.81 and a 200-day moving average of $95.53. The company has a market capitalization of $4.72 billion, a PE ratio of 22.71 and a beta of 1.07.

Belden (NYSE:BDC) last released its 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. The firm had revenue of $604.34 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $574.32 million. Belden had a net margin of 8.51% and a return on equity of 21.13%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 12.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $1.91 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Belden will post 6.04 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Belden Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, October 8th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, September 12th will be paid a dividend of $0.05 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, September 12th. This represents a $0.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.17%. Belden’s payout ratio is 3.91%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on BDC shares. Benchmark lifted their price objective on Belden from $115.00 to $120.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, September 18th. Vertical Research began coverage on Belden in a report on Tuesday, July 23rd. They set a “buy” rating and a $110.00 price objective on the stock. StockNews.com raised Belden from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, June 17th. Finally, Truist Financial upped their price target on shares of Belden from $123.00 to $124.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, August 2nd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $112.00.

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.