Ethic Inc. Grows Position in Hubbell Incorporated (NYSE:HUBB)

Ethic Inc. grew its stake in shares of Hubbell Incorporated (NYSE:HUBB - Free Report) by 31.2% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 11,793 shares of the industrial products company's stock after acquiring an additional 2,805 shares during the period. Ethic Inc.'s holdings in Hubbell were worth $4,940,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. Fiduciary Trust Co acquired a new stake in shares of Hubbell in the fourth quarter valued at about $246,000. FORA Capital LLC acquired a new stake in Hubbell during the fourth quarter worth about $1,131,000. Frontier Capital Management Co. LLC grew its position in Hubbell by 42.6% during the fourth quarter. Frontier Capital Management Co. LLC now owns 18,701 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $7,834,000 after buying an additional 5,587 shares in the last quarter. D. E. Shaw & Co. Inc. boosted its holdings in Hubbell by 551.7% during the fourth quarter. D. E. Shaw & Co. Inc. now owns 2,985 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $1,250,000 after purchasing an additional 2,527 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Cetera Investment Advisers boosted its holdings in Hubbell by 23.3% during the fourth quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 8,658 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $3,627,000 after purchasing an additional 1,635 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 88.16% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have recently issued reports on HUBB. StockNews.com cut shares of Hubbell from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Friday, April 11th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price objective on Hubbell from $430.00 to $352.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, April 8th. Finally, Barclays reduced their price objective on Hubbell from $422.00 to $400.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, March 26th. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $449.38.

Hubbell Stock Performance

HUBB stock traded up $4.15 on Friday, hitting $390.79. The company had a trading volume of 264,540 shares, compared to its average volume of 529,374. Hubbell Incorporated has a 12-month low of $299.43 and a 12-month high of $481.35. The company has a current ratio of 1.64, a quick ratio of 0.98 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.44. The stock's 50-day simple moving average is $346.02 and its 200 day simple moving average is $397.58. The stock has a market cap of $20.86 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.20, a P/E/G ratio of 1.34 and a beta of 0.97.

Hubbell (NYSE:HUBB - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, May 1st. The industrial products company reported $3.50 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $3.73 by ($0.23). Hubbell had a return on equity of 28.62% and a net margin of 13.82%. The company had revenue of $1.37 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.39 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $3.60 EPS. The company's revenue for the quarter was down 2.4% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Hubbell Incorporated will post 17.63 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Hubbell Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 16th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 30th will be given a $1.32 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 30th. This represents a $5.28 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.35%. Hubbell's payout ratio is presently 35.72%.

Hubbell declared that its board has approved a share repurchase program on Wednesday, February 12th that permits the company to buyback $500.00 million in shares. This buyback authorization permits the industrial products company to purchase up to 2.4% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are often an indication that the company's management believes its shares are undervalued.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Hubbell news, insider Alyssa R. Flynn sold 1,164 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $389.06, for a total value of $452,865.84. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 4,327 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,683,462.62. This trade represents a 21.20% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.66% 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.