Bel Fuse (NASDAQ:BELFA) Hits New 12-Month High – Should You Buy?

Shares of Bel Fuse Inc. (NASDAQ:BELFA) reached a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Monday . The company traded as high as $170.28 and last traded at $168.1180, with a volume of 1752 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $159.44.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Separately, Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of Bel Fuse in a research report on Monday, December 29th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, one has assigned a Buy rating and one has issued a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Bel Fuse has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $115.00.

Bel Fuse Stock Up 1.8%

The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $142.53 and a 200-day simple moving average of $123.18. The company has a market capitalization of $2.17 billion, a PE ratio of 34.72 and a beta of 1.22. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.53, a quick ratio of 1.75 and a current ratio of 3.06.

Bel Fuse (NASDAQ:BELFA) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 29th. The scientific and technical instruments company reported $1.99 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.40 by $0.59. The business had revenue of $178.98 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $171.69 million. Bel Fuse had a net margin of 10.04% and a return on equity of 21.18%.

Bel Fuse Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, January 30th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, January 15th will be paid a $0.06 dividend. This represents a $0.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.1%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, January 15th. Bel Fuse’s dividend payout ratio is 4.87%.

Insider Activity

In other Bel Fuse news, VP Kenneth Koon Keung Lai sold 1,936 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $144.23, for a total transaction of $279,229.28. Following the sale, the vice president owned 8,319 shares in the company, valued at $1,199,849.37. This represents a 18.88% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, VP Joseph Berry sold 408 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $144.23, for a total value of $58,845.84. Following the transaction, the vice president directly owned 17,893 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,580,707.39. This represents a 2.23% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders have sold 3,027 shares of company stock worth $435,034 in the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 5.46% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Bel Fuse

Several hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in BELFA. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted its position in Bel Fuse by 6.8% during the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 2,351 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $274,000 after purchasing an additional 150 shares during the period. FNY Investment Advisers LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Bel Fuse by 186.7% during the third quarter. FNY Investment Advisers LLC now owns 1,637 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $190,000 after acquiring an additional 1,066 shares during the period. Qube Research & Technologies Ltd bought a new position in shares of Bel Fuse during the third quarter worth about $286,000. Millennium Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Bel Fuse during the third quarter worth about $358,000. Finally, Citadel Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of Bel Fuse by 434.9% in the 3rd quarter. Citadel Advisors LLC now owns 13,336 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $1,552,000 after acquiring an additional 10,843 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 6.01% of the company’s stock.

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.