Bel Fuse (NASDAQ:BELFB) Shares Gap Up - Here's Why

Bel Fuse Inc. (NASDAQ:BELFB - Get Free Report)'s share price gapped up before the market opened on Wednesday . The stock had previously closed at $82.11, but opened at $86.19. Bel Fuse shares last traded at $87.55, with a volume of 18,008 shares.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

BELFB has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Oppenheimer initiated coverage on Bel Fuse in a research note on Tuesday, December 17th. They set an "outperform" rating and a $105.00 price target on the stock. StockNews.com lowered Bel Fuse from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Thursday. Finally, Needham & Company LLC increased their price target on Bel Fuse from $95.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, three have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Buy" and a consensus target price of $100.00.

Bel Fuse Stock Up 1.8 %

The company has a current ratio of 2.92, a quick ratio of 2.71 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.80. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.08 billion, a PE ratio of 26.32, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.96 and a beta of 1.28. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $81.81 and a two-hundred day moving average of $77.17.

Bel Fuse (NASDAQ:BELFB - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, February 18th. The electronics maker reported ($0.14) earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.96 by ($1.10). The firm had revenue of $149.86 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $126.41 million. Bel Fuse had a return on equity of 12.37% and a net margin of 7.66%. During the same period last year, the business posted $1.29 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Bel Fuse Inc. will post 5.65 EPS for the current year.

Bel Fuse Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 1st. Investors of record on Tuesday, April 15th will be issued a $0.07 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, April 15th. This represents a $0.28 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.33%. Bel Fuse's dividend payout ratio is currently 8.56%.

Insider Activity at Bel Fuse

In other news, VP Joseph Francis Berry sold 1,000 shares of the firm'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 sale, the vice president now directly owns 8,023 shares in the company, valued at $644,246.90. This trade represents a 11.08 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. 5.37% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of Bel Fuse

Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Janus Henderson Group PLC grew its stake in shares of Bel Fuse by 55.4% during the fourth quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 398,123 shares of the electronics maker's stock valued at $32,821,000 after acquiring an additional 141,951 shares in the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. grew its stake in Bel Fuse by 10.6% in the fourth quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 351,755 shares of the electronics maker's stock worth $29,009,000 after purchasing an additional 33,768 shares in the last quarter. Advisory Research Inc. grew its stake in Bel Fuse by 27.4% in the fourth quarter. Advisory Research Inc. now owns 313,446 shares of the electronics maker's stock worth $25,850,000 after purchasing an additional 67,460 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its stake in Bel Fuse by 0.9% in the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 292,020 shares of the electronics maker's stock worth $24,088,000 after purchasing an additional 2,722 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Portolan Capital Management LLC grew its stake in Bel Fuse by 72.5% in the fourth quarter. Portolan Capital Management LLC now owns 208,470 shares of the electronics maker's stock worth $17,193,000 after purchasing an additional 87,612 shares in the last quarter. 58.39% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.