Hubbell (NYSE:HUBB) Cut to “Hold” at StockNews.com

StockNews.com downgraded shares of Hubbell (NYSE:HUBB) from a buy rating to a hold rating in a research report sent to investors on Wednesday morning.

Several other brokerages have also issued reports on HUBB. Barclays reduced their target price on shares of Hubbell from $422.00 to $400.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday. 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 research note on Tuesday, January 7th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft cut shares of Hubbell from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and dropped their target price for the company from $493.00 to $473.00 in a research report on Tuesday, November 26th. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $462.13.

Hubbell Stock Performance

Shares of Hubbell stock opened at $331.68 on Wednesday. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $379.97 and a 200 day simple moving average of $418.41. Hubbell has a fifty-two week low of $330.32 and a fifty-two week high of $481.35. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.44, a current ratio of 1.64 and a quick ratio of 0.98. The firm has a market cap of $17.80 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.10, a P/E/G ratio of 1.34 and a beta of 0.94.

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

Hubbell Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 17th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 28th were given 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 dividend yield of 1.59%. Hubbell’s dividend payout ratio is 36.77%.

Hubbell announced that its board has approved a share buyback plan on Wednesday, February 12th that permits the company to repurchase $500.00 million in shares. This repurchase authorization permits the industrial products company to buy up to 2.4% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are generally an indication that the company’s leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Insider Buying and Selling

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 stock was sold at an average price of $389.06, for a total value of $452,865.84. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 4,327 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,683,462.62. The trade was a 21.20 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. 0.66% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Hubbell

Several institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Cerity Partners LLC lifted its position in Hubbell by 54.1% in the 3rd quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 9,326 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $3,995,000 after acquiring an additional 3,273 shares in the last quarter. Kingsview Wealth Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Hubbell by 1.0% in the 3rd quarter. Kingsview Wealth Management LLC now owns 3,288 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $1,408,000 after purchasing an additional 31 shares during the period. Swedbank AB raised its stake in shares of Hubbell by 5.1% in the 3rd quarter. Swedbank AB now owns 43,308 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $18,551,000 after purchasing an additional 2,100 shares during the period. DRW Securities LLC bought a new stake in shares of Hubbell in the third quarter valued at about $206,000. Finally, Brooklyn Investment Group acquired a new position in shares of Hubbell during the third quarter worth about $133,000. Institutional investors own 88.16% of the company’s stock.

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.