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

Hubbell Incorporated (NYSE:HUBB) has been given an average rating of “Hold” by the eight research firms that are currently covering the firm, MarketBeat reports. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and three have assigned a buy recommendation to the company. The average 12 month target price among analysts that have covered the stock in the last year is $472.13.

Several equities research analysts have recently commented on the stock. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft downgraded shares of Hubbell from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and reduced their target price for the company from $493.00 to $473.00 in a research note on Tuesday, November 26th. StockNews.com lowered Hubbell from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 3rd. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on Hubbell from $445.00 to $455.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 30th. Mizuho raised their price objective on shares of Hubbell from $450.00 to $490.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 17th. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein assumed coverage on shares of Hubbell in a research note on Tuesday, November 5th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $535.00 price target on the stock.

Hubbell Price Performance

Shares of Hubbell stock opened at $430.96 on Tuesday. The firm has a market cap of $23.13 billion, a P/E ratio of 31.05, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.69 and a beta of 0.93. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $445.25 and its 200-day simple moving average is $413.17. Hubbell has a twelve month low of $315.38 and a twelve month high of $481.35. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.51, a quick ratio of 1.05 and a current ratio of 1.66.

Hubbell (NYSE:HUBB) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 29th. The industrial products company reported $4.49 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $4.47 by $0.02. The company had revenue of $1.44 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.48 billion. Hubbell had a return on equity of 28.81% and a net margin of 13.33%. The company’s revenue was up 4.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $3.95 EPS. As a group, research analysts expect that Hubbell will post 16.47 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Hubbell Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, December 16th. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 29th were paid a $1.32 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, November 29th. This represents a $5.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.23%. This is a positive change from Hubbell’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.22. Hubbell’s payout ratio is presently 38.04%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Hubbell news, insider Mark Eugene Mikes sold 1,144 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, November 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $466.20, for a total transaction of $533,332.80. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 2,957 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,378,553.40. The trade was a 27.90 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Corporate insiders own 0.66% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Hubbell

Several hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of HUBB. Prospera Private Wealth LLC bought a new stake in shares of Hubbell in the third quarter valued at about $33,000. Versant Capital Management Inc boosted its holdings in Hubbell by 64.6% in the 4th quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 79 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $33,000 after purchasing an additional 31 shares during the period. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC bought a new stake in Hubbell in the 3rd quarter valued at about $41,000. Quarry LP acquired a new position in shares of Hubbell during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $49,000. Finally, Northwest Investment Counselors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Hubbell in the third quarter valued at approximately $58,000. 88.16% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.