StockNews.com Downgrades Belden (NYSE:BDC) to Buy

Belden (NYSE:BDC) was downgraded by equities research analysts at StockNews.com from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a report released on Friday.

A number of other research analysts also recently issued reports on BDC. Benchmark restated a “buy” rating and set a $130.00 target price on shares of Belden in a research report on Monday, February 10th. Loop Capital cut their price objective on shares of Belden from $155.00 to $145.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, February 11th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, According to data from MarketBeat.com, Belden has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $130.25.

Belden Price Performance

NYSE:BDC opened at $88.99 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.37, a current ratio of 1.92 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.87. The firm has a market cap of $3.58 billion, a PE ratio of 18.50 and a beta of 1.07. Belden has a 12 month low of $80.90 and a 12 month high of $131.82. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $107.97 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $114.70.

Belden (NYSE:BDC) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 6th. The industrial products company reported $1.92 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.68 by $0.24. Belden had a net margin of 8.06% and a return on equity of 21.42%. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Belden will post 7.07 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at Belden

In other Belden news, SVP Leah Tate sold 2,400 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $114.77, for a total value of $275,448.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 23,243 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,667,599.11. The trade was a 9.36 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CEO Ashish Chand sold 14,535 shares of Belden stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $111.45, for a total value of $1,619,925.75. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 107,129 shares in the company, valued at $11,939,527.05. This trade represents a 11.95 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 23,428 shares of company stock valued at $2,589,774 over the last three months. 1.59% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Belden

A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Principal Securities Inc. raised its position in Belden by 9.6% in the 4th quarter. Principal Securities Inc. now owns 1,202 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $135,000 after buying an additional 105 shares during the last quarter. Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC raised its holdings in shares of Belden by 5.4% in the fourth quarter. Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC now owns 2,277 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $257,000 after purchasing an additional 116 shares during the last quarter. Arizona State Retirement System lifted its position in shares of Belden by 1.1% in the fourth quarter. Arizona State Retirement System now owns 11,843 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $1,334,000 after purchasing an additional 129 shares in the last quarter. Baird Financial Group Inc. boosted its holdings in Belden by 4.9% during the fourth quarter. Baird Financial Group Inc. now owns 2,802 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $316,000 after purchasing an additional 130 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Mariner LLC grew its position in Belden by 6.7% in the fourth quarter. Mariner LLC now owns 2,190 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $247,000 after purchasing an additional 137 shares in the last quarter. 98.75% of the stock is currently owned by 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.