Short Interest in Bel Fuse Inc. (NASDAQ:BELFA) Drops By 14.1%

Bel Fuse Inc. (NASDAQ:BELFA) was the target of a large decline in short interest in the month of February. As of February 15th, there was short interest totalling 53,500 shares, a decline of 14.1% from the January 31st total of 62,300 shares. Currently, 3.4% of the company’s shares are short sold. Based on an average trading volume of 9,600 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 5.6 days.

Bel Fuse Trading Down 2.0 %

BELFA traded down $1.59 during trading hours on Thursday, reaching $77.91. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 7,014 shares, compared to its average volume of 12,574. The stock has a market cap of $977.43 million, a PE ratio of 25.21 and a beta of 1.23. The business’s 50-day moving average is $85.14 and its 200-day moving average is $92.36. Bel Fuse has a fifty-two week low of $63.65 and a fifty-two week high of $106.93. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.80, a current ratio of 2.92 and a quick ratio of 1.66.

Bel Fuse (NASDAQ:BELFA) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 18th. The scientific and technical instruments company reported $1.45 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.01 by $0.44. Bel Fuse had a return on equity of 18.61% and a net margin of 7.66%. The company had revenue of $149.86 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $126.41 million.

Bel Fuse Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 1st. Investors of record on Tuesday, April 15th will be issued a dividend of $0.06 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, April 15th. This represents a $0.24 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.31%. Bel Fuse’s payout ratio is 7.77%.

Institutional Trading of Bel Fuse

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Citadel Advisors LLC raised its stake in Bel Fuse by 199.9% during the 4th quarter. Citadel Advisors LLC now owns 16,419 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $1,479,000 after purchasing an additional 10,945 shares during the period. Bank of America Corp DE lifted its stake in Bel Fuse by 41.8% in the 4th quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 1,648 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $148,000 after acquiring an additional 486 shares in the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp boosted its holdings in shares of Bel Fuse by 1.9% during the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 17,610 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $1,586,000 after purchasing an additional 323 shares during the period. Herald Investment Management Ltd purchased a new position in Bel Fuse during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $360,000. Finally, Marshall Wace LLP acquired a new position in Bel Fuse in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $337,000. Institutional investors own 6.01% of the company’s stock.

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.