Bel Fuse Inc. (NASDAQ:BELFB - Get Free Report) was the recipient of a significant increase in short interest during the month of December. As of December 15th, there was short interest totalling 307,000 shares, an increase of 5.2% from the November 30th total of 291,800 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 68,300 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 4.5 days. Approximately 3.0% of the company's stock are sold short.
In other Bel Fuse news, VP Joseph Francis Berry sold 1,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, November 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $80.30, for a total transaction of $80,300.00. Following the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 8,023 shares in the company, valued at approximately $644,246.90. This trade represents a 11.08 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, insider Stephen Dawson sold 1,500 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, November 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $77.65, for a total transaction of $116,475.00. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 14,832 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,151,704.80. This trade represents a 9.18 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 5.37% of the company's stock.
Hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. grew its holdings in Bel Fuse by 10.1% during the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 30,387 shares of the electronics maker's stock worth $2,386,000 after acquiring an additional 2,793 shares in the last quarter. Barclays PLC raised its stake in Bel Fuse by 319.5% in the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 16,008 shares of the electronics maker's stock worth $1,257,000 after buying an additional 12,192 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its position in Bel Fuse by 2.2% during the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 289,298 shares of the electronics maker's stock valued at $22,716,000 after acquiring an additional 6,250 shares in the last quarter. Hodges Capital Management Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Bel Fuse by 47.7% in the 3rd quarter. Hodges Capital Management Inc. now owns 75,785 shares of the electronics maker's stock valued at $5,950,000 after acquiring an additional 24,490 shares during the period. Finally, Dean Investment Associates LLC boosted its position in Bel Fuse by 49.6% during the third quarter. Dean Investment Associates LLC now owns 47,034 shares of the electronics maker's stock valued at $3,693,000 after purchasing an additional 15,588 shares in the last quarter. 58.39% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.
Several brokerages recently weighed in on BELFB. Northland Securities increased their target price on shares of Bel Fuse from $80.00 to $95.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Tuesday, October 1st. Needham & Company LLC increased their price target on shares of Bel Fuse from $79.00 to $95.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday, November 18th. Northland Capmk raised shares of Bel Fuse from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, September 5th. Oppenheimer started coverage on shares of Bel Fuse in a research note on Tuesday, December 17th. They set an "outperform" rating and a $105.00 target price for the company. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded Bel Fuse from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Saturday, November 2nd. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Buy" and a consensus price target of $98.33.
Get Our Latest Stock Report on BELFB
Shares of Bel Fuse stock traded up $0.55 during trading on Wednesday, reaching $82.47. 50,416 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 88,369. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16, a current ratio of 4.00 and a quick ratio of 2.71. The company has a market capitalization of $1.03 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.92 and a beta of 1.33. Bel Fuse has a 52-week low of $45.74 and a 52-week high of $92.61. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $80.53 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $73.78.
The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, January 31st. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, January 15th will be paid a dividend of $0.07 per share. This represents a $0.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.34%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, January 15th. Bel Fuse's dividend payout ratio is currently 6.42%.
Bel Fuse Inc designs, manufactures, markets, and sells products that power, protect, and connect electronic circuits. The company's products are used in the networking, telecommunications, computing, general industrial, high-speed data transmission, military, commercial aerospace, transportation, and e-Mobility industries.
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