Short Interest in Belden Inc. (NYSE:BDC) Expands By 6.8%

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

Belden Stock Performance

BDC traded down $1.06 during trading on Tuesday, hitting $116.07. 194,485 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 273,849. The firm has a market capitalization of $4.72 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.48 and a beta of 1.07. Belden has a 1-year low of $60.54 and a 1-year high of $118.26. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $102.40 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $95.32. The company has a quick ratio of 1.25, a current ratio of 1.70 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.95.

Belden (NYSE:BDC) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, August 1st. The industrial products company reported $1.51 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.37 by $0.14. The business had revenue of $604.34 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $574.32 million. Belden had a net margin of 8.51% and a return on equity of 21.13%. The business’s quarterly revenue was down 12.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $1.91 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Belden will post 6.04 earnings per share for the current year.

Belden Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, October 8th. Investors of record on Thursday, September 12th will be paid a $0.05 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, September 12th. This represents a $0.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.17%. Belden’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 3.91%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, SVP Brian Edward Anderson sold 6,556 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $100.46, for a total value of $658,615.76. Following the sale, the senior vice president now owns 32,829 shares in the company, valued at $3,298,001.34. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In related news, Director Nancy E. Calderon sold 2,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, August 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $95.98, for a total value of $239,950.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 6,954 shares in the company, valued at approximately $667,444.92. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, SVP Brian Edward Anderson sold 6,556 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $100.46, for a total transaction of $658,615.76. Following the sale, the senior vice president now owns 32,829 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,298,001.34. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 11,137 shares of company stock valued at $1,095,457 over the last quarter. 1.59% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in BDC. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC raised its position in Belden by 2.2% during the first quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 1,383,742 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $128,148,000 after acquiring an additional 30,268 shares during the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP grew its holdings in Belden by 17.9% during the 4th quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 985,282 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $76,113,000 after buying an additional 149,263 shares during the last quarter. Hotchkis & Wiley Capital Management LLC increased its position in Belden by 13.5% during the fourth quarter. Hotchkis & Wiley Capital Management LLC now owns 611,585 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $47,245,000 after buying an additional 72,775 shares in the last quarter. Southernsun Asset Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Belden by 15.3% in the fourth quarter. Southernsun Asset Management LLC now owns 534,618 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $41,299,000 after acquiring an additional 71,118 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Renaissance Technologies LLC lifted its position in shares of Belden by 15.8% in the second quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 313,063 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $29,365,000 after acquiring an additional 42,600 shares in the last quarter. 98.75% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have commented on BDC. Benchmark upped their price objective on shares of Belden from $115.00 to $120.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 18th. StockNews.com raised Belden from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, June 17th. Vertical Research initiated coverage on Belden in a research note on Tuesday, July 23rd. They set a “buy” rating and a $110.00 price objective on the stock. Finally, Truist Financial raised their target price on Belden from $123.00 to $124.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, August 2nd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price 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.