The Goldman Sachs Group Issues Pessimistic Forecast for Belden (NYSE:BDC) Stock Price

Belden (NYSE:BDC) had its price objective cut by stock analysts at The Goldman Sachs Group from $139.00 to $120.00 in a report issued on Thursday,Benzinga reports. The firm currently has a “buy” rating on the industrial products company’s stock. The Goldman Sachs Group’s price objective suggests a potential upside of 29.73% from the company’s previous close.

Other equities research analysts have also issued reports about the stock. Benchmark reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $130.00 price target on shares of Belden in a report on Monday, February 10th. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Belden from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, April 4th. Finally, Loop Capital decreased their price target on shares of Belden from $155.00 to $145.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, February 11th. Six analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $128.20.

Belden Stock Down 5.9 %

Shares of BDC traded down $5.81 during mid-day trading on Thursday, hitting $92.50. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 137,874 shares, compared to its average volume of 273,056. The company’s 50-day moving average is $105.55 and its 200-day moving average is $114.02. The company has a current ratio of 1.92, a quick ratio of 1.37 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.87. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.72 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.13 and a beta of 1.07. Belden has a 52-week low of $80.90 and a 52-week high of $131.82.

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

Insider Activity at Belden

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

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Belden

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Aster Capital Management DIFC Ltd purchased a new position in Belden in the fourth quarter valued at about $26,000. Quarry LP grew its stake in shares of Belden by 208.7% during the fourth quarter. Quarry LP now owns 392 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $44,000 after acquiring an additional 265 shares in the last quarter. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio bought a new stake in shares of Belden in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $61,000. First Horizon Advisors Inc. raised its stake in Belden by 49.9% during the fourth quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc. now owns 634 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $71,000 after acquiring an additional 211 shares during the period. Finally, Parkside Financial Bank & Trust grew its position in Belden by 31.3% in the 4th quarter. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust now owns 835 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $94,000 after purchasing an additional 199 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 98.75% of the company’s stock.

About Belden

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.