Proficio Capital Partners LLC Buys New Stake in Hubbell Incorporated (NYSE:HUBB)

Proficio Capital Partners LLC bought a new stake in Hubbell Incorporated (NYSE:HUBB) during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund bought 96,764 shares of the industrial products company’s stock, valued at approximately $40,533,000.

Other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Salem Investment Counselors Inc. increased its position in Hubbell by 26.0% in the 4th quarter. Salem Investment Counselors Inc. now owns 9,144 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $3,830,000 after acquiring an additional 1,886 shares during the period. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC increased its position in Hubbell by 122.4% in the 4th quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC now owns 28,723 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $12,032,000 after acquiring an additional 15,806 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc. increased its position in Hubbell by 7.1% in the 3rd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 229,210 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $98,187,000 after acquiring an additional 15,215 shares during the period. LGT Capital Partners LTD. acquired a new stake in Hubbell in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $39,687,000. Finally, Impax Asset Management Group plc increased its position in 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 acquiring an additional 279,654 shares during the period. 88.16% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have recently issued reports on the company. StockNews.com upgraded Hubbell from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, February 17th. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price target on Hubbell from $455.00 to $450.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, January 7th. Barclays lowered their price target on Hubbell from $475.00 to $422.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, March 3rd. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft cut Hubbell from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and lowered their price target for the company from $493.00 to $473.00 in a research report on Tuesday, November 26th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $464.88.

Hubbell Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE HUBB opened at $331.53 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.98, a current ratio of 1.64 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.44. The stock has a market capitalization of $17.79 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.09, a PEG ratio of 1.34 and a beta of 0.94. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $399.47 and its 200 day simple moving average is $421.64. Hubbell Incorporated has a 52-week low of $330.32 and a 52-week high of $481.35.

Hubbell (NYSE:HUBB) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The industrial products company reported $4.10 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.02 by $0.08. The business had revenue of $1.33 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.41 billion. Hubbell had a return on equity of 28.62% and a net margin of 13.82%. The company’s quarterly revenue was down .9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $3.69 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Hubbell Incorporated will post 17.63 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Hubbell Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 17th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 28th will be given a $1.32 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 28th. This represents a $5.28 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.59%. Hubbell’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 36.77%.

Hubbell announced that its Board of Directors has approved a stock buyback program on Wednesday, February 12th that allows the company to repurchase $500.00 million in shares. This repurchase authorization allows the industrial products company to buy up to 2.4% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are typically an indication that the company’s leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Insider Transactions at Hubbell

In other news, insider Alyssa R. Flynn sold 1,164 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $389.06, for a total value of $452,865.84. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 4,327 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,683,462.62. This trade represents a 21.20 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. 0.66% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.