Bel Fuse Inc. (NASDAQ:BELFA) Sees Large Growth in Short Interest

Bel Fuse Inc. (NASDAQ:BELFA) was the recipient of a significant increase in short interest in the month of March. As of March 13th, there was short interest totaling 39,338 shares, an increase of 51.7% from the February 26th total of 25,927 shares. Currently, 0.3% of the shares of the company are sold short. Based on an average trading volume of 73,211 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 0.5 days.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

BELFA has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Robert W. Baird set a $250.00 price objective on Bel Fuse in a research report on Thursday, February 19th. Weiss Ratings lowered Bel Fuse from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “hold (c)” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 26th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating and one has assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $250.00.

Bel Fuse Stock Performance

NASDAQ:BELFA opened at $190.65 on Monday. The stock has a market cap of $2.41 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 41.00 and a beta of 1.19. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.46, a quick ratio of 1.71 and a current ratio of 3.02. Bel Fuse has a 1 year low of $53.95 and a 1 year high of $227.42. The business has a fifty day moving average of $197.53 and a 200-day moving average of $157.97.

Bel Fuse (NASDAQ:BELFA) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 17th. The scientific and technical instruments company reported $1.88 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.10 by $0.78. The business had revenue of $175.94 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $172.01 million. Bel Fuse had a net margin of 9.11% and a return on equity of 21.78%.

Bel Fuse Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 1st. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, April 15th will be given a dividend of $0.06 per share. This represents a $0.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.1%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, April 15th. Bel Fuse’s payout ratio is 5.16%.

Insider Activity

In other Bel Fuse news, Director Peter E. Gilbert sold 4,500 shares of Bel Fuse stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $238.75, for a total value of $1,074,375.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 15,047 shares in the company, valued at $3,592,471.25. The trade was a 23.02% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, CEO Farouq Salem Ali Tuweiq sold 33,967 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $234.00, for a total value of $7,948,278.00. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. 5.46% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in BELFA. Investors Asset Management of Georgia Inc. GA ADV lifted its holdings in shares of Bel Fuse by 0.4% in the third quarter. Investors Asset Management of Georgia Inc. GA ADV now owns 26,151 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $3,043,000 after buying an additional 100 shares during the period. Rhumbline Advisers grew its holdings in Bel Fuse by 3.9% during the third quarter. Rhumbline Advisers now owns 3,196 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $372,000 after acquiring an additional 121 shares during the period. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised its position in Bel Fuse by 6.8% in the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 2,351 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $274,000 after acquiring an additional 150 shares in the last quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets raised its position in Bel Fuse by 92.2% in the third quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 319 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $37,000 after acquiring an additional 153 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Gabelli Funds LLC lifted its holdings in Bel Fuse by 0.3% in the 2nd quarter. Gabelli Funds LLC now owns 67,400 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $6,056,000 after acquiring an additional 200 shares during the last quarter. 6.01% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

About Bel Fuse

Bel Fuse Inc, incorporated in 1949 and headquartered in Jersey City, New Jersey, designs and manufactures a broad range of electronic components aimed at ensuring reliable power delivery, circuit protection and signal connectivity. The company operates through two primary segments—Power Solutions Group and Telecom Products Group—serving original equipment manufacturers in multiple end markets, including telecommunications, data communications, consumer electronics, industrial and transportation.

Within its Power Solutions Group, Bel Fuse offers magnetic components such as power and signal transformers, inductors and coils, as well as circuit protection devices including fuses and resettable polyfuses.