Hubbell (NYSE:HUBB) Rating Increased to Buy at StockNews.com

Hubbell (NYSE:HUBB) was upgraded by equities research analysts at StockNews.com from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note issued on Monday.

HUBB has been the topic of several other reports. Sanford C. Bernstein assumed coverage on Hubbell in a research report on Tuesday, November 5th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $535.00 price target on the stock. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lowered Hubbell from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and lowered their target price for the stock from $493.00 to $473.00 in a report on Tuesday, November 26th. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price objective on shares of Hubbell from $455.00 to $450.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, January 7th. Morgan Stanley boosted their target price on shares of Hubbell from $407.00 to $445.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 30th. Finally, Barclays increased their target price on shares of Hubbell from $402.00 to $475.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 5th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $471.50.

Hubbell Stock Performance

NYSE:HUBB traded down $3.30 during mid-day trading on Monday, hitting $389.93. The stock had a trading volume of 655,543 shares, compared to its average volume of 676,539. The company has a current ratio of 1.64, a quick ratio of 1.05 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.44. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $425.25 and a 200-day simple moving average of $423.73. The stock has a market capitalization of $20.93 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.15, a P/E/G ratio of 1.36 and a beta of 0.92. Hubbell has a 52 week low of $346.13 and a 52 week high of $481.35.

Hubbell (NYSE:HUBB) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The industrial products company reported $4.10 EPS for the quarter, beating 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 firm had revenue of $1.33 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.41 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $3.69 EPS. The firm’s revenue was down .9% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts expect that Hubbell will post 17.63 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Hubbell announced that its Board of Directors has authorized a share repurchase program on Wednesday, February 12th that authorizes the company to repurchase $500.00 million in shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the industrial products company to buy up to 2.4% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are typically a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Hubbell

A number of large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in HUBB. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC grew its position in shares of Hubbell by 22.7% in the fourth quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 273,164 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $114,426,000 after purchasing an additional 50,565 shares during the last quarter. Vident Advisory LLC boosted its stake in Hubbell by 37.3% during the 4th quarter. Vident Advisory LLC now owns 2,492 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $1,044,000 after purchasing an additional 677 shares during the period. Squarepoint Ops LLC boosted its stake in Hubbell by 31.1% during the 4th quarter. Squarepoint Ops LLC now owns 40,383 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $16,916,000 after purchasing an additional 9,580 shares during the period. Temasek Holdings Private Ltd increased its position in Hubbell by 221.1% in the 4th quarter. Temasek Holdings Private Ltd now owns 24,596 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $10,303,000 after buying an additional 16,935 shares during the period. Finally, Tidal Investments LLC increased its position in Hubbell by 16.6% in the 4th quarter. Tidal Investments LLC now owns 2,750 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $1,152,000 after buying an additional 392 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 88.16% of the company’s stock.

Hubbell Company Profile

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.