Hubbell Incorporated (NYSE:HUBB) Receives Consensus Rating of “Hold” from Analysts

Shares of Hubbell Incorporated (NYSE:HUBB) have been given an average rating of “Hold” by the eight ratings firms that are presently covering the company, MarketBeat reports. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company. The average 1-year target price among brokerages that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $464.88.

Several research firms have recently commented on HUBB. StockNews.com upgraded Hubbell from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, February 17th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lowered Hubbell from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and reduced their price target for the stock from $493.00 to $473.00 in a report on Tuesday, November 26th. Barclays reduced their price objective on shares of Hubbell from $475.00 to $422.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, March 3rd. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price objective on shares of Hubbell from $455.00 to $450.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, January 7th.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Hubbell news, insider Alyssa R. Flynn sold 1,164 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $389.06, for a total transaction of $452,865.84. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 4,327 shares in the company, valued at $1,683,462.62. This represents a 21.20 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Insiders own 0.78% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Hubbell

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Creative Financial Designs Inc. ADV grew its position in shares of Hubbell by 85.7% during the fourth quarter. Creative Financial Designs Inc. ADV now owns 65 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $27,000 after buying an additional 30 shares in the last quarter. Groupama Asset Managment grew its position in shares of Hubbell by 17.0% during the third quarter. Groupama Asset Managment now owns 6,955 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $30,000 after buying an additional 1,010 shares in the last quarter. Stonebridge Financial Group LLC acquired a new position in shares of Hubbell during the fourth quarter worth about $30,000. Prospera Private Wealth LLC acquired a new position in shares of Hubbell during the third quarter worth about $33,000. Finally, Versant Capital Management Inc grew its position in shares of Hubbell by 64.6% during the fourth quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 79 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $33,000 after buying an additional 31 shares in the last quarter. 88.16% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Hubbell Trading Down 0.3 %

Shares of HUBB opened at $338.08 on Friday. Hubbell has a 52-week low of $330.32 and a 52-week high of $481.35. The company has a quick ratio of 0.98, a current ratio of 1.64 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.44. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $388.41 and its two-hundred day moving average is $419.73. The stock has a market cap of $18.14 billion, a PE ratio of 23.54, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.34 and a beta of 0.95.

Hubbell (NYSE:HUBB) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The industrial products company reported $4.10 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $4.02 by $0.08. Hubbell had a return on equity of 28.62% and a net margin of 13.82%. The business had revenue of $1.33 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.41 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $3.69 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was down .9% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts forecast that Hubbell will post 17.63 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Hubbell Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 17th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 28th were paid a dividend of $1.32 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 28th. This represents a $5.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.56%. Hubbell’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 36.77%.

Hubbell announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a share buyback program on Wednesday, February 12th that allows the company to buyback $500.00 million in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization allows the industrial products company to repurchase up to 2.4% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are usually a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

About Hubbell

Hubbell Incorporated, together with its subsidiaries, designs, manufactures, and sells electrical and utility solutions in the United States and internationally. It operates through two segments, Electrical Solutions and Utility Solutions. The Electrical Solution segment offers standard and special application wiring device products, rough-in electrical products, connector and grounding products, lighting fixtures, and other electrical equipment for use in industrial, commercial, and institutional facilities by electrical contractors, maintenance personnel, electricians, utilities, and telecommunications companies, as well as components and assemblies.