Belden Inc. (NYSE:BDC) Sees Large Increase in Short Interest

Belden Inc. (NYSE:BDC) was the target of a large increase in short interest during the month of October. As of October 31st, there was short interest totalling 960,300 shares, an increase of 6.7% from the October 15th total of 899,600 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 270,500 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 3.6 days. Currently, 2.4% of the company’s stock are short sold.

Insider Activity at Belden

In other Belden news, CAO Doug Zink sold 1,324 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, November 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $117.49, for a total transaction of $155,556.76. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 9,643 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,132,956.07. The trade was a 12.07 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. 1.59% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Belden

Large investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. ProShare Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of Belden by 3.1% during the 1st quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC now owns 9,524 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $882,000 after purchasing an additional 290 shares in the last quarter. State Board of Administration of Florida Retirement System grew its position in Belden by 3.5% in the 1st quarter. State Board of Administration of Florida Retirement System now owns 12,564 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $1,090,000 after purchasing an additional 420 shares in the last quarter. Covestor Ltd increased its position in shares of Belden by 33.9% during the first quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 1,166 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $108,000 after acquiring an additional 295 shares during the last quarter. CANADA LIFE ASSURANCE Co increased its position in shares of Belden by 11.2% during the 1st quarter. CANADA LIFE ASSURANCE Co now owns 43,038 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $3,984,000 after purchasing an additional 4,319 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Quadrature Capital Ltd bought a new stake in shares of Belden during the 1st quarter worth $256,000. Institutional investors own 98.75% of the company’s stock.

Belden Price Performance

BDC traded down $0.55 during trading on Tuesday, hitting $117.78. 15,277 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 270,135. Belden has a twelve month low of $65.52 and a twelve month high of $131.82. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $116.26 and a 200 day moving average price of $103.23. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.99, a current ratio of 2.07 and a quick ratio of 1.43. The company has a market cap of $4.75 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.54 and a beta of 1.07.

Belden (NYSE:BDC) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The industrial products company reported $1.70 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.61 by $0.09. Belden had a net margin of 7.61% and a return on equity of 20.55%. The company had revenue of $654.90 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $643.63 million. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $1.78 EPS. The firm’s revenue was up 4.5% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts forecast that Belden will post 6.12 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Belden Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, October 8th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, September 12th were paid a $0.05 dividend. This represents a $0.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.17%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, September 12th. Belden’s dividend payout ratio is currently 4.65%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts recently weighed in on BDC shares. Truist Financial raised their target price on shares of Belden from $124.00 to $136.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, November 1st. Vertical Research began coverage on Belden in a report on Tuesday, July 23rd. They set a “buy” rating and a $110.00 price target for the company. Finally, Benchmark boosted their price objective on shares of Belden from $120.00 to $130.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, November 1st. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $122.75.

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.