Hubbell (NYSE:HUBB) Upgraded at StockNews.com

StockNews.com upgraded shares of Hubbell (NYSE:HUBB) from a hold rating to a buy rating in a report released on Thursday.

Several other equities analysts also recently weighed in on HUBB. Morgan Stanley raised their price target on Hubbell from $407.00 to $445.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 30th. Wells Fargo & Company cut their target price on shares of Hubbell from $455.00 to $450.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, January 7th. Barclays raised their price target on shares of Hubbell from $402.00 to $475.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 5th. Mizuho boosted 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 initiated coverage on shares of Hubbell in a research report on Tuesday, November 5th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $535.00 target price on the stock. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $471.50.

Hubbell Trading Up 0.8 %

Shares of HUBB stock opened at $437.52 on Thursday. The stock has a market cap of $23.48 billion, a P/E ratio of 31.52, a P/E/G ratio of 1.45 and a beta of 0.93. The company has a quick ratio of 1.05, a current ratio of 1.66 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.51. Hubbell has a fifty-two week low of $322.27 and a fifty-two week high of $481.35. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $442.54 and a 200-day simple moving average of $417.38.

Hubbell (NYSE:HUBB) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, October 29th. The industrial products company reported $4.49 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.47 by $0.02. The company had revenue of $1.44 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.48 billion. Hubbell had a net margin of 13.33% and a return on equity of 28.81%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 4.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $3.95 earnings per share. On average, analysts forecast that Hubbell will post 16.47 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Hubbell Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, December 16th. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 29th were paid a dividend of $1.32 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, November 29th. This is a boost from Hubbell’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.22. This represents a $5.28 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.21%. Hubbell’s payout ratio is currently 38.04%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Hubbell news, insider Mark Eugene Mikes sold 1,144 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, November 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $466.20, for a total transaction of $533,332.80. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 2,957 shares in the company, valued at $1,378,553.40. This represents a 27.90 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 0.78% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Hubbell

A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. LGT Capital Partners LTD. purchased a new stake in Hubbell during the third quarter worth approximately $39,687,000. Principal Financial Group Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Hubbell by 7.1% during the 3rd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 229,210 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $98,187,000 after acquiring an additional 15,215 shares in the last quarter. Salem Investment Counselors Inc. boosted its position in Hubbell by 26.0% during the 4th quarter. Salem Investment Counselors Inc. now owns 9,144 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $3,830,000 after purchasing an additional 1,886 shares during the period. Impax Asset Management Group plc increased its holdings in Hubbell by 30.3% in the 3rd quarter. Impax Asset Management Group plc now owns 1,202,455 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $514,377,000 after purchasing an additional 279,654 shares in the last quarter. Finally, MidAtlantic Capital Management Inc. purchased a new position in Hubbell in the third quarter valued at about $757,000. Hedge funds and other 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.