Truist Financial Raises Belden (NYSE:BDC) Price Target to $101.00

Belden (NYSE:BDC) had its target price hoisted by Truist Financial from $98.00 to $101.00 in a report released on Friday, Benzinga reports. The firm currently has a buy rating on the industrial products company’s stock.

Separately, StockNews.com upgraded Belden from a hold rating to a buy rating in a report on Thursday. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Belden presently has an average rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus price target of $103.00.

Belden Stock Performance

Shares of BDC opened at $88.23 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $3.59 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.27 and a beta of 1.07. The company’s fifty day moving average is $87.12 and its 200-day moving average is $78.23. The company has a quick ratio of 1.72, a current ratio of 2.55 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.02. Belden has a 12 month low of $60.54 and a 12 month high of $99.13.

Belden (NYSE:BDC) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, May 2nd. The industrial products company reported $1.24 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.05 by $0.19. The firm had revenue of $536.00 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $514.27 million. Belden had a net margin of 9.01% and a return on equity of 23.11%. The business’s quarterly revenue was down 16.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $1.68 earnings per share. Equities analysts expect that Belden will post 5.77 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Belden Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, April 9th. Investors of record on Thursday, March 14th were given a dividend of $0.05 per share. This represents a $0.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.23%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, March 13th. Belden’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 3.91%.

Insider Activity at Belden

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

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Belden

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Whittier Trust Co. raised its stake in shares of Belden by 662.2% in the first 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 last quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets raised its position in Belden by 9.4% in the 1st quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 29,292 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $2,713,000 after purchasing an additional 2,507 shares during the last quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. boosted its stake in 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 grew its holdings in shares of Belden by 15.7% during the first quarter. Retirement Systems of Alabama now owns 244,364 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $22,631,000 after purchasing an additional 33,160 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Principal Financial Group Inc. increased its stake in shares of Belden by 2.0% in the first 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 institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.