Hubbell (NYSE:HUBB) Raised to “Overweight” at JPMorgan Chase & Co.

JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded shares of Hubbell (NYSE:HUBB) from a neutral rating to an overweight rating in a research note published on Friday, MarketBeat.com reports. The firm currently has $335.00 price objective on the industrial products company’s stock, up from their prior price objective of $333.00.

Several other brokerages have also recently issued reports on HUBB. Seaport Res Ptn restated a buy rating on shares of Hubbell in a research report on Wednesday, November 8th. StockNews.com began coverage on shares of Hubbell in a research report on Thursday, October 5th. They issued a buy rating for the company. Stephens restated an overweight rating and issued a $375.00 price target on shares of Hubbell in a research report on Wednesday, November 1st. Wolfe Research upgraded shares of Hubbell from an underperform rating to a peer perform rating in a research report on Friday, August 11th. Finally, Mizuho upped their price objective on shares of Hubbell from $300.00 to $370.00 in a research note on Wednesday, July 26th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Hubbell has a consensus rating of Hold and a consensus target price of $299.43.

Hubbell Price Performance

HUBB stock opened at $300.82 on Friday. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $297.89 and a 200 day simple moving average of $305.64. The stock has a market cap of $16.13 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.86, a P/E/G ratio of 1.91 and a beta of 0.93. Hubbell has a 1 year low of $219.77 and a 1 year high of $340.06. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.52, a current ratio of 2.16 and a quick ratio of 1.43.

Hubbell (NYSE:HUBB) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 31st. The industrial products company reported $3.95 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $4.07 by ($0.12). Hubbell had a net margin of 13.56% and a return on equity of 30.09%. The business had revenue of $1.38 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.40 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $3.08 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was up 4.5% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts anticipate that Hubbell will post 15.19 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Hubbell Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 15th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, November 30th will be paid a $1.22 dividend. This is a positive change from Hubbell’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.12. This represents a $4.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.62%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, November 29th. Hubbell’s dividend payout ratio is currently 37.08%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, VP Nero Jonathan M. Del sold 1,902 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, November 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $285.54, for a total transaction of $543,097.08. Following the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 3,646 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,041,078.84. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 0.66% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of HUBB. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD boosted its stake in Hubbell by 42.9% during the first quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 5,028,010 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $1,223,367,000 after acquiring an additional 1,509,684 shares in the last quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. raised its holdings in Hubbell by 3,204.3% during the first quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 1,059,051 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $8,332,000 after buying an additional 1,027,000 shares during the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP raised its holdings in Hubbell by 133.8% during the first quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 1,543,481 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $283,646,000 after buying an additional 883,272 shares during the last quarter. Artisan Partners Limited Partnership raised its holdings in Hubbell by 130.2% during the second quarter. Artisan Partners Limited Partnership now owns 726,462 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $240,866,000 after buying an additional 410,883 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Norges Bank acquired a new position in Hubbell during the fourth quarter worth $90,375,000. 85.97% of the stock is 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.