Hound Partners LLC Cuts Holdings in Bel Fuse Inc. $BELFA

Hound Partners LLC decreased its stake in Bel Fuse Inc. (NASDAQ:BELFA) by 7.5% during the first quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 34,814 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock after selling 2,826 shares during the quarter. Bel Fuse accounts for about 0.8% of Hound Partners LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 22nd largest position. Hound Partners LLC’s holdings in Bel Fuse were worth $6,273,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Rhumbline Advisers lifted its holdings in shares of Bel Fuse by 3.9% during the 3rd 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 last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased its stake 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 valued at $274,000 after acquiring an additional 150 shares during the last quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets increased its stake 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 valued at $37,000 after acquiring an additional 153 shares during the last quarter. Barclays PLC raised its position in Bel Fuse by 12.3% during the fourth quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 2,562 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $389,000 after purchasing an additional 281 shares in the last quarter. Finally, PNC Financial Services Group Inc. raised its position in Bel Fuse by 6,000.0% during the first quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 305 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $55,000 after purchasing an additional 300 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 6.01% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have issued reports on BELFA shares. Citigroup initiated coverage on Bel Fuse in a research note on Monday, July 13th. They set a “buy” rating for the company. Weiss Ratings upgraded Bel Fuse from a “hold (c)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 6th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has given a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $250.00.

Bel Fuse Price Performance

Shares of Bel Fuse stock opened at $233.15 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.47, a quick ratio of 1.73 and a current ratio of 3.18. Bel Fuse Inc. has a 52-week low of $94.15 and a 52-week high of $293.51. The company has a fifty day moving average of $245.72 and a 200-day moving average of $219.90. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.97 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 56.18 and a beta of 1.37.

Bel Fuse (NASDAQ:BELFA) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, April 29th. The scientific and technical instruments company reported $1.72 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.62 by $0.10. The company had revenue of $178.49 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $172.07 million. Bel Fuse had a net margin of 7.84% and a return on equity of 22.38%.

Bel Fuse Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, July 31st. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, July 15th will be issued a $0.06 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, July 15th. This represents a $0.24 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.1%. Bel Fuse’s payout ratio is currently 5.78%.

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.