Short Interest in Hubbell Incorporated (NYSE:HUBB) Declines By 5.9%

Hubbell Incorporated (NYSE:HUBB) was the target of a significant decline in short interest in the month of November. As of November 15th, there was short interest totalling 1,920,000 shares, a decline of 5.9% from the October 31st total of 2,040,000 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 410,600 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 4.7 days. Currently, 3.6% of the shares of the company are sold short.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

HUBB has been the subject of a number of research reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut shares of Hubbell from an “overweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and boosted their target price for the stock from $385.00 to $454.00 in a research note on Thursday, October 10th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on shares of Hubbell from $445.00 to $455.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 30th. Barclays boosted their target price on shares of Hubbell from $400.00 to $402.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 30th. StockNews.com cut shares of Hubbell from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft cut shares of Hubbell from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and cut their target price for the stock from $493.00 to $473.00 in a research note on Tuesday, November 26th. Six 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 presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $449.11.

Hubbell Price Performance

HUBB traded down $0.48 on Tuesday, reaching $456.75. 3,906 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 442,279. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.51, a current ratio of 1.66 and a quick ratio of 1.05. The stock has a market cap of $24.51 billion, a PE ratio of 32.94, a P/E/G ratio of 1.71 and a beta of 0.91. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $446.29 and its 200-day moving average price is $404.74. Hubbell has a twelve month low of $295.90 and a twelve month high of $481.35.

Hubbell (NYSE:HUBB) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, October 29th. The industrial products company reported $4.49 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $4.47 by $0.02. Hubbell had a net margin of 13.33% and a return on equity of 28.81%. The company had revenue of $1.44 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.48 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $3.95 EPS. Hubbell’s revenue was up 4.9% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts expect that Hubbell will post 16.47 EPS for the current year.

Hubbell Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 16th. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 29th will be issued a $1.32 dividend. This is a positive change from Hubbell’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.22. This represents a $5.28 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.16%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, November 29th. Hubbell’s dividend payout ratio is currently 38.04%.

Insider Transactions at Hubbell

In related news, insider Mark Eugene Mikes sold 1,144 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, November 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $466.20, for a total transaction of $533,332.80. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 2,957 shares in the company, valued at $1,378,553.40. The trade was a 27.90 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.78% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Hubbell

Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in HUBB. Mizuho Securities USA LLC increased its stake in Hubbell by 192,421.1% during the 3rd quarter. Mizuho Securities USA LLC now owns 7,980,000 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $3,418,233,000 after buying an additional 7,975,855 shares during the period. International Assets Investment Management LLC increased its stake in Hubbell by 42,735.0% during the 3rd quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 1,919,865 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $8,223,740,000 after buying an additional 1,915,383 shares during the period. Impax Asset Management Group plc increased its stake in Hubbell by 53.8% during the 2nd quarter. Impax Asset Management Group plc now owns 922,801 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $336,984,000 after buying an additional 322,728 shares during the period. Bank of New York Mellon Corp increased its stake in Hubbell by 16.7% during the 2nd quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 2,035,596 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $743,970,000 after buying an additional 291,850 shares during the period. Finally, Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank increased its stake in Hubbell by 268.3% during the 3rd quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 231,130 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $99,005,000 after buying an additional 168,380 shares during the period. 88.16% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.