Hubbell (NYSE:HUBB) Cut to “Buy” at Wall Street Zen

Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Hubbell (NYSE:HUBB) from a strong-buy rating to a buy rating in a research note published on Saturday morning.

HUBB has been the topic of several other reports. Stephens reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and issued a $500.00 target price on shares of Hubbell in a research note on Thursday, September 11th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on shares of Hubbell from $417.00 to $458.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 15th. Weiss Ratings restated a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of Hubbell in a research report on Wednesday, October 8th. Mizuho upped their price objective on shares of Hubbell from $475.00 to $480.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, October 17th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on shares of Hubbell from $490.00 to $500.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 29th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $488.43.

Hubbell Trading Down 0.6%

NYSE HUBB opened at $445.24 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $23.66 billion, a PE ratio of 27.62, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.47 and a beta of 1.01. Hubbell has a 1-year low of $299.42 and a 1-year high of $484.26. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $437.75 and a 200-day moving average of $427.06. The company has a current ratio of 1.36, a quick ratio of 0.85 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.28.

Hubbell (NYSE:HUBB) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 28th. The industrial products company reported $5.17 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $4.98 by $0.19. The business had revenue of $1.50 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.54 billion. Hubbell had a return on equity of 27.68% and a net margin of 15.24%.Hubbell’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company earned $4.49 EPS. Hubbell has set its FY 2025 guidance at 18.100-18.30 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Hubbell will post 17.63 EPS for the current year.

Hubbell Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, December 15th. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 28th were paid a dividend of $1.42 per share. This is a positive change from Hubbell’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.32. This represents a $5.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.3%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, November 28th. Hubbell’s payout ratio is 35.24%.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director John F. Malloy purchased 435 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 17th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $429.24 per share, with a total value of $186,719.40. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 19,085 shares in the company, valued at $8,192,045.40. This trade represents a 2.33% increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, insider Mark Eugene Mikes sold 2,470 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, November 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $466.50, for a total value of $1,152,255.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 4,785 shares in the company, valued at $2,232,202.50. The trade was a 34.05% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Company insiders own 0.76% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Hubbell

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. IFP Advisors Inc raised its position in shares of Hubbell by 17.1% in the 3rd quarter. IFP Advisors Inc now owns 1,057 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $455,000 after purchasing an additional 154 shares during the last quarter. Swiss Life Asset Management Ltd increased its stake in Hubbell by 3.8% during the 3rd quarter. Swiss Life Asset Management Ltd now owns 14,884 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $6,405,000 after purchasing an additional 539 shares in the last quarter. CIBC Bancorp USA Inc. bought a new stake in Hubbell during the 3rd quarter valued at about $7,462,000. Captrust Financial Advisors raised its holdings in Hubbell by 16.9% in the third quarter. Captrust Financial Advisors now owns 9,550 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $4,109,000 after buying an additional 1,379 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Coldstream Capital Management Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Hubbell by 4.3% in the third quarter. Coldstream Capital Management Inc. now owns 3,508 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $1,510,000 after buying an additional 144 shares in the last quarter. 88.16% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.