Belden Insider Sold Shares Worth $386,469, According to a Recent SEC Filing

When it comes to short-term investing or trading, they say "the trend is your friend." And there's no denying that this is the most profitable strategy. But making sure of the sustainability of a trend to profit from it is easier said than done.

Often, the direction of a stock's price movement reverses quickly after taking a position in it, making investors incur a short-term capital loss. So, it's important to ensure that there are enough factors -- such as sound fundamentals, positive earnings estimate revisions, etc. -- that could keep the momentum in the stock going.

Investors looking to make a profit from stocks that are currently on the move may find our "Recent Price Strength" screen pretty useful. This predefined screen comes handy in spotting stocks that are on an uptrend backed by strength in their fundamentals, and trading in the upper portion of their 52-week high-low range, which is usually an indicator of bullishness.

Belden

(BDC) is one of the several suitable candidates that passed through the screen. Here are the key reasons why it could be a profitable bet for "trend" investors.

A solid price increase over a period of 12 weeks reflects investors' continued willingness to pay more for the potential upside in a stock. BDC is quite a good fit in this regard, gaining 21.4% over this period.

However, it's not enough to look at the price change for around three months, as it doesn't reflect any trend reversal that might have happened in a shorter time frame. It's important for a potential winner to maintain the price trend. A price increase of 0.4% over the past four weeks ensures that the trend is still in place for the stock of this communications equipment company.

Moreover, BDC is currently trading at 92.5% of its 52-week High-Low Range, hinting that it can be on the verge of a breakout.

Looking at the fundamentals, the stock currently carries a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy), which means it is in the top 20% of more than the 4,000 stocks that we rank based on trends in earnings estimate revisions and EPS surprises -- the key factors that impact a stock's near-term price movements.

The Zacks Rank stock-rating system, which uses four factors related to earnings estimates to classify stocks into five groups, ranging from Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy) to Zacks Rank #5 (Strong Sell), has an impressive externally-audited track record, with Zacks Rank #1 stocks generating an average annual return of +25% since 1988. You can see the complete list of today's Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy) stocks here

Another factor that confirms the company's fundamental strength is its Average Broker Recommendation of #1 (Strong Buy). This indicates that the brokerage community is highly optimistic about the stock's near-term price performance.

So, the price trend in BDC may not reverse anytime soon.

In addition to BDC, there are several other stocks that currently pass through our "Recent Price Strength" screen. You may consider investing in them and start looking for the newest stocks that fit these criteria.

This is not the only screen that could help you find your next winning stock pick. Based on your personal investing style, you may choose from over 45 Zacks Premium Screens that are strategically created to beat the market.

However, keep in mind that the key to a successful stock-picking strategy is to ensure that it produced profitable results in the past. You could easily do that with the help of the Zacks Research Wizard. In addition to allowing you to backtest the effectiveness of your strategy, the program comes loaded with some of our most successful stock-picking strategies.

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Zacks Investment Research

The Industrial Products group has plenty of great stocks, but investors should always be looking for companies that are outperforming their peers. Has Belden (BDC) been one of those stocks this year? By taking a look at the stock's year-to-date performance in comparison to its Industrial Products peers, we might be able to answer that question.

Belden is a member of the Industrial Products sector. This group includes 213 individual stocks and currently holds a Zacks Sector Rank of #14. The Zacks Sector Rank considers 16 different sector groups. The average Zacks Rank of the individual stocks within the groups is measured, and the sectors are listed from best to worst.

The Zacks Rank is a successful stock-picking model that emphasizes earnings estimates and estimate revisions. The system highlights a number of different stocks that could be poised to outperform the broader market over the next one to three months. Belden is currently sporting a Zacks Rank of #2 (Buy).

Over the past three months, the Zacks Consensus Estimate for BDC's full-year earnings has moved 1.3% higher. This shows that analyst sentiment has improved and the company's earnings outlook is stronger.

Based on the latest available data, BDC has gained about 49.2% so far this year. Meanwhile, the Industrial Products sector has returned an average of 11.8% on a year-to-date basis. This shows that Belden is outperforming its peers so far this year.

One other Industrial Products stock that has outperformed the sector so far this year is Zebra Technologies (ZBRA). The stock is up 40.7% year-to-date.

For Zebra Technologies, the consensus EPS estimate for the current year has increased 6.2% over the past three months. The stock currently has a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy).

Looking more specifically, Belden belongs to the Wire and Cable Products industry, which includes 3 individual stocks and currently sits at #190 in the Zacks Industry Rank. On average, stocks in this group have lost 14% this year, meaning that BDC is performing better in terms of year-to-date returns.

Zebra Technologies, however, belongs to the Manufacturing - Thermal Products industry. Currently, this 4-stock industry is ranked #12. The industry has moved +36% so far this year.

Going forward, investors interested in Industrial Products stocks should continue to pay close attention to Belden and Zebra Technologies as they could maintain their solid performance.

Zacks Investment Research