Belden Inc (NYSE:BDC) Sees Large Increase in Short Interest

Belden Inc (NYSE:BDC) saw a large increase in short interest during the month of March. As of March 13th, there was short interest totaling 1,502,671 shares, an increase of 59.3% from the February 26th total of 943,192 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 422,923 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 3.6 days. Approximately 3.9% of the company’s stock are sold short.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have commented on BDC shares. Truist Financial upped their price target on Belden from $149.00 to $150.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, December 19th. Benchmark boosted their price objective on Belden from $145.00 to $175.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, February 13th. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Belden from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 18th. Finally, Wall Street Zen raised shares of Belden from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Saturday, January 17th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $148.33.

Insider Activity at Belden

In other Belden news, SVP Leah Tate sold 2,954 shares of Belden stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $130.00, for a total value of $384,020.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president owned 24,881 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,234,530. This trade represents a 10.61% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, CAO Doug Zink sold 1,452 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $133.96, for a total value of $194,509.92. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer directly owned 4,642 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $621,842.32. This trade represents a 23.83% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders sold a total of 4,891 shares of company stock worth $639,640 over the last ninety days. 1.48% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd boosted its holdings in shares of Belden by 12,950.0% in the 3rd quarter. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd now owns 261 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $31,000 after purchasing an additional 259 shares during the period. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its stake in Belden by 134.1% during the second quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 288 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $33,000 after buying an additional 165 shares during the period. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC boosted its stake in Belden by 234.3% during the third quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 331 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $40,000 after buying an additional 232 shares during the period. Fairscale Capital LLC bought a new position in Belden during the fourth quarter valued at $51,000. Finally, Employees Retirement System of Texas purchased a new stake in shares of Belden in the second quarter valued at $52,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 98.75% of the company’s stock.

Belden Price Performance

BDC traded down $1.12 during trading on Friday, reaching $112.86. 226,504 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 373,156. The company has a market cap of $4.37 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.10 and a beta of 1.17. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.02, a quick ratio of 1.36 and a current ratio of 1.93. Belden has a 12-month low of $83.18 and a 12-month high of $159.99. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $128.75 and a 200 day simple moving average of $122.05.

Belden (NYSE:BDC) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 12th. The industrial products company reported $2.08 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.93 by $0.15. The business had revenue of $720.12 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $696.97 million. Belden had a return on equity of 24.43% and a net margin of 8.75%.The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $1.92 EPS. Belden has set its Q1 2026 guidance at 1.650-1.750 EPS. On average, equities analysts forecast that Belden will post 7.07 EPS for the current year.

Belden Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, April 9th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, March 12th will be issued a $0.05 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, March 12th. This represents a $0.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.2%. Belden’s payout ratio is 3.38%.

About Belden

Belden, formerly Belden Inc (NYSE:BDC), was a global provider of signal transmission solutions for demanding applications. The company produced a wide range of copper and fiber optic cables, connectors, patch panels, cable assemblies, and surge protection devices. Its portfolio extended into networking and security hardware, including managed switches, industrial routers, and software tools for remote monitoring and network management.

Founded in 1902 and headquartered in St. Louis, Missouri, Belden built its reputation on delivering high‐performance, reliable products for harsh environments.