Short Interest in Bel Fuse Inc. (NASDAQ:BELFB) Expands By 5.2%

Bel Fuse Inc. (NASDAQ:BELFB) saw a significant increase in short interest in December. As of December 15th, there was short interest totalling 307,000 shares, an increase of 5.2% from the November 30th total of 291,800 shares. Currently, 3.0% of the shares of the company are sold short. Based on an average daily volume of 68,300 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 4.5 days.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have issued reports on BELFB shares. Needham & Company LLC lifted their price target on Bel Fuse from $79.00 to $95.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, November 18th. StockNews.com lowered Bel Fuse from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Saturday, November 2nd. Oppenheimer started coverage on Bel Fuse in a research note on Tuesday, December 17th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $105.00 price target for the company. Northland Capmk raised Bel Fuse from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, September 5th. Finally, Northland Securities lifted their price target on Bel Fuse from $80.00 to $95.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 1st. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $98.33.

Insider Activity

In related news, VP Joseph Francis Berry sold 1,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, November 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $80.30, for a total transaction of $80,300.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 8,023 shares in the company, valued at $644,246.90. The trade was a 11.08 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, insider Stephen Dawson sold 1,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, November 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $77.65, for a total value of $116,475.00. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 14,832 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,151,704.80. The trade was a 9.18 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 5.37% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Bel Fuse

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of BELFB. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans increased its holdings in Bel Fuse by 277.2% during the 2nd quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans now owns 167,496 shares of the electronics maker’s stock valued at $10,927,000 after purchasing an additional 123,092 shares during the period. Portolan Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in Bel Fuse by 122.8% during the 3rd quarter. Portolan Capital Management LLC now owns 120,858 shares of the electronics maker’s stock valued at $9,489,000 after purchasing an additional 66,621 shares during the period. Isthmus Partners LLC purchased a new position in Bel Fuse during the 2nd quarter valued at about $39,000. Hodges Capital Management Inc. purchased a new position in Bel Fuse during the 2nd quarter valued at about $3,346,000. Finally, American Century Companies Inc. increased its holdings in Bel Fuse by 11.6% during the 2nd quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 276,265 shares of the electronics maker’s stock valued at $18,024,000 after purchasing an additional 28,649 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 58.39% of the company’s stock.

Bel Fuse Trading Up 0.7 %

NASDAQ BELFB opened at $82.47 on Thursday. Bel Fuse has a 1-year low of $45.74 and a 1-year high of $92.61. The company has a current ratio of 4.00, a quick ratio of 2.71 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $80.60 and a 200-day moving average of $73.84. The firm has a market cap of $1.03 billion, a PE ratio of 18.92 and a beta of 1.33.

Bel Fuse Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, January 31st. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, January 15th will be paid a $0.07 dividend. This represents a $0.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.34%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, January 15th. Bel Fuse’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 6.42%.

About Bel Fuse

Bel Fuse Inc designs, manufactures, markets, and sells products that power, protect, and connect electronic circuits. The company’s products are used in the networking, telecommunications, computing, general industrial, high-speed data transmission, military, commercial aerospace, transportation, and e-Mobility industries.