Hubbell Incorporated (NYSE:HUBB) Short Interest Down 11.3% in October

Hubbell Incorporated (NYSE:HUBB) saw a large decrease in short interest in October. As of October 31st, there was short interest totalling 2,040,000 shares, a decrease of 11.3% from the October 15th total of 2,300,000 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 385,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 5.3 days. Currently, 3.9% of the company’s stock are sold short.

Insider Activity at Hubbell

In other Hubbell news, insider Mark Eugene Mikes sold 1,144 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 sale, the insider now owns 2,957 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,378,553.40. The trade was a 27.90 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. 0.66% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Hubbell

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Empowered Funds LLC purchased a new position in Hubbell during the first quarter worth about $327,000. Davis R M Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Hubbell in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $409,000. Bahl & Gaynor Inc. boosted its position in shares of Hubbell by 5.3% during the 1st quarter. Bahl & Gaynor Inc. now owns 139,403 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $57,859,000 after purchasing an additional 7,072 shares during the period. Rockport Wealth LLC purchased a new position in shares of Hubbell during the 1st quarter worth approximately $405,000. Finally, UniSuper Management Pty Ltd increased its holdings in Hubbell by 394.8% in the 1st quarter. UniSuper Management Pty Ltd now owns 3,043 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $1,263,000 after purchasing an additional 2,428 shares during the last quarter. 88.16% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Hubbell Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE HUBB traded down $2.48 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $437.61. 403,882 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 439,325. The company has a quick ratio of 1.05, a current ratio of 1.66 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.51. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $435.08 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $399.80. Hubbell has a twelve month low of $287.06 and a twelve month high of $481.35. The firm has a market cap of $23.49 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.53, a PEG ratio of 1.63 and a beta of 0.90.

Hubbell (NYSE:HUBB) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 29th. The industrial products company reported $4.49 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.47 by $0.02. The company had revenue of $1.44 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.48 billion. Hubbell had a net margin of 13.33% and a return on equity of 28.81%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $3.95 earnings per share. As a group, analysts anticipate that Hubbell will post 16.47 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Hubbell Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 16th. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 29th will be given a dividend of $1.32 per share. This is a positive change from Hubbell’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.22. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 29th. This represents a $5.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.21%. Hubbell’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 35.16%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

HUBB has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Sanford C. Bernstein began coverage on shares of Hubbell in a report on Tuesday, November 5th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $535.00 price objective on the stock. Stephens reissued an “overweight” rating and issued a $450.00 price objective on shares of Hubbell in a report on Friday, August 2nd. Morgan Stanley upped their target price on Hubbell from $407.00 to $445.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 30th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered shares of Hubbell from an “overweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and raised their price target for the stock from $385.00 to $454.00 in a research report on Thursday, October 10th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised shares of Hubbell from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their price objective for the company from $431.00 to $441.00 in a report on Friday, September 6th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Hubbell has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $445.56.

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.