Hubbell (NYSE:HUBB) Sees Strong Trading Volume After Better-Than-Expected Earnings

Hubbell Incorporated (NYSE:HUBB) shares saw unusually-high trading volume on Tuesday after the company announced better than expected quarterly earnings. Approximately 710,100 shares were traded during mid-day trading, an increase of 73% from the previous session’s volume of 409,551 shares.The stock last traded at $377.27 and had previously closed at $407.19.

The industrial products company reported $3.60 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.54 by $0.06. The business had revenue of $1.40 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.39 billion. Hubbell had a net margin of 13.23% and a return on equity of 29.55%. The company’s revenue was up 8.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $3.61 earnings per share.

Hubbell Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 17th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 31st will be paid a dividend of $1.22 per share. This represents a $4.88 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.31%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 30th. Hubbell’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 36.39%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

HUBB has been the subject of a number of research reports. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft initiated coverage on shares of Hubbell in a research note on Monday, March 11th. They issued a “hold” rating and a $427.00 price target for the company. Mizuho increased their price target on shares of Hubbell from $370.00 to $450.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 20th. Barclays decreased their target price on shares of Hubbell from $400.00 to $384.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their target price on shares of Hubbell from $435.00 to $397.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded shares of Hubbell from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, February 2nd. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $386.57.

Insider Activity

In other news, CFO William R. Sperry sold 14,925 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $352.99, for a total transaction of $5,268,375.75. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 37,848 shares in the company, valued at $13,359,965.52. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. In other news, insider Mark Eugene Mikes sold 1,837 shares of Hubbell stock in a transaction on Friday, February 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $358.16, for a total transaction of $657,939.92. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 5,296 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,896,815.36. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CFO William R. Sperry sold 14,925 shares of Hubbell stock in a transaction on Friday, February 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $352.99, for a total transaction of $5,268,375.75. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 37,848 shares in the company, valued at approximately $13,359,965.52. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 34,125 shares of company stock worth $12,065,100 over the last 90 days. 0.66% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Hubbell by 15.9% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 6,696,582 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $2,202,707,000 after acquiring an additional 918,808 shares during the last quarter. FMR LLC raised its position in shares of Hubbell by 2.9% during the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 2,563,965 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $803,572,000 after purchasing an additional 71,962 shares during the period. Bank of New York Mellon Corp raised its position in shares of Hubbell by 14.2% during the 1st quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 1,743,746 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $723,741,000 after purchasing an additional 216,600 shares during the period. International Assets Investment Management LLC raised its position in shares of Hubbell by 32,734.4% during the 4th quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 1,472,949 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $484,497,000 after purchasing an additional 1,468,463 shares during the period. Finally, Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA raised its position in shares of Hubbell by 24.4% during the 4th quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 1,268,560 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $417,267,000 after purchasing an additional 248,493 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 88.16% of the company’s stock.

Hubbell Stock Down 0.1 %

The stock has a market capitalization of $20.00 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.85, a P/E/G ratio of 2.26 and a beta of 0.96. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $397.61 and its 200 day moving average price is $344.52. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.64, a quick ratio of 1.01 and a current ratio of 1.66.

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.