Hubbell Incorporated (NYSE:HUBB) Shares Acquired by Quaero Capital S.A.

Quaero Capital S.A. raised its stake in Hubbell Incorporated (NYSE:HUBB) by 4.3% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 5,371 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after buying an additional 223 shares during the quarter. Hubbell accounts for about 2.9% of Quaero Capital S.A.’s holdings, making the stock its 7th biggest position. Quaero Capital S.A.’s holdings in Hubbell were worth $2,250,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Mizuho Securities USA LLC raised its position in Hubbell by 192,421.1% during the third quarter. Mizuho Securities USA LLC now owns 7,980,000 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $3,418,233,000 after acquiring an additional 7,975,855 shares in the last quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of 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 valued at $8,223,740,000 after purchasing an additional 1,915,383 shares in the last quarter. Impax Asset Management Group plc lifted its stake in shares of Hubbell by 30.3% in the 3rd quarter. Impax Asset Management Group plc now owns 1,202,455 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $514,377,000 after purchasing an additional 279,654 shares during the last quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank boosted its holdings in Hubbell by 268.3% in the third quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 231,130 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $99,005,000 after purchasing an additional 168,380 shares in the last quarter. Finally, LGT Capital Partners LTD. acquired a new position in Hubbell during the third quarter worth $39,687,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 88.16% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

HUBB has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft cut Hubbell from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and reduced their price target for the stock from $493.00 to $473.00 in a research report on Tuesday, November 26th. StockNews.com cut Hubbell from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 28th. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price target on shares of Hubbell from $455.00 to $450.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, January 7th. Sanford C. Bernstein assumed coverage on shares of Hubbell in a report on Tuesday, November 5th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $535.00 price objective for the company. Finally, Morgan Stanley lifted their target price on shares of Hubbell from $407.00 to $445.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 30th. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $471.50.

Hubbell Price Performance

Shares of Hubbell stock opened at $389.93 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.44, a current ratio of 1.64 and a quick ratio of 1.05. The company has a market cap of $20.93 billion, a PE ratio of 27.15, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.36 and a beta of 0.92. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $427.95 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $423.00. Hubbell Incorporated has a fifty-two week low of $346.13 and a fifty-two week high of $481.35.

Hubbell (NYSE:HUBB) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The industrial products company reported $4.10 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $4.02 by $0.08. Hubbell had a net margin of 13.82% and a return on equity of 28.62%. The business had revenue of $1.33 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.41 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $3.69 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was down .9% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts expect that Hubbell Incorporated will post 17.63 EPS for the current year.

Hubbell Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 17th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 28th will be given a dividend of $1.32 per share. This represents a $5.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.35%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 28th. Hubbell’s dividend payout ratio is presently 36.77%.

Hubbell announced that its board has authorized a share buyback program on Wednesday, February 12th that allows the company to buyback $500.00 million in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization allows the industrial products company to reacquire up to 2.4% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are usually a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

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.