Head to Head Comparison: Hubbell (HUBB) versus The Competition

Hubbell (NYSE:HUBB) is one of 216 public companies in the “Electrical Equipment” industry, but how does it contrast to its competitors? We will compare Hubbell to related businesses based on the strength of its dividends, analyst recommendations, valuation, institutional ownership, earnings, risk and profitability.

Insider and Institutional Ownership

88.2% of Hubbell shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 37.4% of shares of all “Electrical Equipment” companies are held by institutional investors. 0.6% of Hubbell shares are held by company insiders. Comparatively, 14.9% of shares of all “Electrical Equipment” companies are held by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that endowments, large money managers and hedge funds believe a company is poised for long-term growth.

Risk & Volatility

Hubbell has a beta of 0.84, indicating that its share price is 16% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Hubbell’s competitors have a beta of -20.43, indicating that their average share price is 2,143% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Analyst Recommendations

This is a summary of current ratings and price targets for Hubbell and its competitors, as reported by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Hubbell	0	5	6	0	2.55
Hubbell Competitors	2289	5169	7220	439	2.38

Hubbell presently has a consensus price target of $546.00, suggesting a potential upside of 27.05%. As a group, “Electrical Equipment” companies have a potential upside of 55.38%. Given Hubbell’s competitors higher probable upside, analysts plainly believe Hubbell has less favorable growth aspects than its competitors.

Valuation and Earnings

This table compares Hubbell and its competitors gross revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Net Income	Price/Earnings Ratio
Hubbell	$6.59 billion	$887.10 million	25.19
Hubbell Competitors	$2.42 billion	$146.97 million	21.14

Hubbell has higher revenue and earnings than its competitors. Hubbell is trading at a higher price-to-earnings ratio than its competitors, indicating that it is currently more expensive than other companies in its industry.

Profitability

This table compares Hubbell and its competitors’ net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Hubbell	13.78%	27.33%	10.61%
Hubbell Competitors	-380.97%	-43.65%	-7.29%

Dividends

Hubbell pays an annual dividend of $6.08 per share and has a dividend yield of 1.4%. Hubbell pays out 35.6% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. As a group, “Electrical Equipment” companies pay a dividend yield of 1.6% and pay out 27.6% of their earnings in the form of a dividend. Hubbell has increased its dividend for 17 consecutive years. Hubbell lags its competitors as a dividend stock, given its lower dividend yield and higher payout ratio.

Summary

Hubbell beats its competitors on 10 of the 15 factors compared.

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. It also designs and manufactures various industrial controls, and communication systems for use in the non-residential and industrial markets, as well as in the oil and gas, and mining industries. This segment sells its products through electrical and industrial distributors, home centers, retail and hardware outlets, lighting showrooms, and residential product-oriented internet sites; and special application products primarily through wholesale distributors to contractors, industrial customers, and original equipment manufacturers. The Utility Solution segment designs, manufactures, and sells electrical distribution, transmission, substation, and telecommunications products, such as arresters, insulators, connectors, anchors, bushings, and enclosures cutoffs and switches; and utility infrastructure products, including smart meters, communications systems, and protection and control devices. This segment sells its products to distributors. Its brand portfolio includes Hubbell, Kellems, Bryant, Burndy, CMC, Bell, TayMac, Wiegmann, Killark, Hawke, Aclara, Fargo, Quazite, Hot Box, etc. The company was founded in 1888 and is headquartered in Shelton, Connecticut.