Belden Inc (BDC) – What Are Researchers Saying About This Stock?

Shares of Belden Inc (NYSE:BDC) have been given an average recommendation of “Moderate Buy” by the nine ratings firms that are covering the stock, MarketBeat.com reports. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, five have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. The average 1-year price target among analysts that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $149.00.

Several equities analysts have recently commented on BDC shares. Zacks Research lowered Belden from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, September 2nd. Wall Street Zen cut Belden from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Saturday, October 31st. DA Davidson upped their target price on Belden from $155.00 to $170.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 19th. Weiss Ratings lowered shares of Belden from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “hold (c)” rating in a report on Friday, October 30th. Finally, Needham & Company LLC began coverage on shares of Belden in a research report on Wednesday, September 23rd. They issued a “buy” rating and a $140.00 target price on the stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Belden

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Marshall Wace LLP increased its stake in Belden by 42.5% in the 3rd quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 606,694 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $65,480,000 after purchasing an additional 180,927 shares during the period. First Trust Advisors LP lifted its position in Belden by 24.5% in the third quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 44,455 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $4,798,000 after purchasing an additional 8,737 shares during the last quarter. Advisors Asset Management Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Belden during the third quarter valued at approximately $554,000. USS Investment Management Ltd grew its holdings in shares of Belden by 54.5% in the third quarter. USS Investment Management Ltd now owns 3,400 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $367,000 after purchasing an additional 1,200 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Boston Partners increased its stake in shares of Belden by 11.4% in the third quarter. Boston Partners now owns 434,442 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $46,678,000 after buying an additional 44,448 shares during the period. 98.75% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Belden Trading Down 0.6%

Shares of BDC opened at $101.64 on Friday. Belden has a 1-year low of $94.75 and a 1-year high of $159.99. The company has a market capitalization of $3.97 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.84 and a beta of 1.16. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.18, a current ratio of 1.82 and a quick ratio of 1.24. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $108.70 and its 200 day simple moving average is $117.48.

Belden (NYSE:BDC) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 29th. The industrial products company reported $2.26 EPS for the quarter, hitting analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.26. The business had revenue of $965.95 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $961.91 million. Belden had a net margin of 5.62% and a return on equity of 25.06%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 38.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $1.97 EPS. Sell-side analysts forecast that Belden will post 8.66 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Belden Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, October 8th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, September 16th were issued a $0.05 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, September 16th. This represents a $0.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.2%. Belden’s payout ratio is currently 4.49%.

About Belden

Belden Inc. develops and supplies connectivity and networking solutions that help organizations transmit data, audio and video. Its products include copper and fiber-optic cable, connectors, and networking equipment used to build and manage communications networks. The company serves industrial, enterprise and broadcast markets. Its solutions support applications such as factory automation, enterprise networking and the production and distribution of audio and video content. Belden sells to customers in markets around the world.