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

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

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, insider Mark Eugene Mikes sold 1,144 shares of Hubbell stock in a transaction dated Thursday, November 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $466.20, for a total value of $533,332.80. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 2,957 shares in the company, valued at $1,378,553.40. The trade was a 27.90 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. 0.66% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Hubbell

A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of HUBB. OLD National Bancorp IN boosted its holdings in Hubbell by 3.8% during the 3rd quarter. OLD National Bancorp IN now owns 596 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $255,000 after acquiring an additional 22 shares during the period. CWM LLC boosted its stake in shares of Hubbell by 2.2% in the second quarter. CWM LLC now owns 1,319 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $482,000 after purchasing an additional 28 shares during the period. Avestar Capital LLC grew its holdings in shares of Hubbell by 5.1% in the third quarter. Avestar Capital LLC now owns 577 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $247,000 after purchasing an additional 28 shares in the last quarter. Detalus Advisors LLC increased its stake in Hubbell by 3.0% during the 2nd quarter. Detalus Advisors LLC now owns 1,030 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $377,000 after buying an additional 30 shares during the period. Finally, Ballentine Partners LLC lifted its holdings in Hubbell by 3.2% during the 3rd quarter. Ballentine Partners LLC now owns 956 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $410,000 after buying an additional 30 shares in the last quarter. 88.16% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Hubbell Trading Down 0.6 %

HUBB stock traded down $2.48 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $437.61. 403,882 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 439,325. Hubbell has a 1-year low of $287.06 and a 1-year high of $481.35. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $435.08 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $399.80. The stock has a market capitalization of $23.49 billion, a PE ratio of 31.53, a P/E/G ratio of 1.63 and a beta of 0.90. The company has a current ratio of 1.66, a quick ratio of 1.05 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.51.

Hubbell (NYSE:HUBB - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 29th. The industrial products company reported $4.49 earnings per share (EPS) 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 firm 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 firm earned $3.95 EPS. Hubbell's revenue was up 4.9% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Hubbell will post 16.47 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Hubbell Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 16th. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 29th will be paid a dividend of $1.32 per share. This represents a $5.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.21%. This is a boost from Hubbell's previous quarterly dividend of $1.22. The ex-dividend date is Friday, November 29th. Hubbell's dividend payout ratio is 35.16%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

HUBB has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. StockNews.com raised Hubbell from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday. Barclays lifted 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. Sanford C. Bernstein started coverage on shares of Hubbell in a research report on Tuesday, November 5th. They issued an "outperform" rating and a $535.00 target price for the company. Stephens restated an "overweight" rating and set a $450.00 price target on shares of Hubbell in a research report on Friday, August 2nd. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. downgraded shares of Hubbell from an "overweight" rating to a "neutral" rating and increased their price objective for the company from $385.00 to $454.00 in a report on Thursday, October 10th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $445.56.

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.