StockStory Favors Hubbell, Flags Charles River and Verisk

StockStory named Hubbell its preferred S&P 500 stock among three companies it reviewed, while raising concerns about Charles River Laboratories and Verisk. The publisher’s assessment cited Hubbell’s growth and improving free cash flow.

Hubbell’s revenue grew at an annual rate of 9.8% over five years, according to StockStory, which said that outpaced the sector average. The publisher also noted that share repurchases helped annual earnings per share growth reach 18.9%, and that the free cash flow margin rose 5.8 percentage points over the same period.

For Charles River, StockStory pointed to a lack of organic revenue growth over the past two years. It also said earnings per share were flat over five years as incremental sales became less profitable, and described returns on capital as diminishing. The article listed the shares at $301.92 and 24.2 times forward earnings.

StockStory questioned Verisk’s growth, citing annual revenue growth of 1.7% over five years and annual earnings-per-share growth of 8% over the last two years. The publisher listed Verisk at $176.54, or 21.5 times forward earnings.

The figures and assessments reflect StockStory’s analysis in the article. It listed Hubbell at $473.94 and 21.8 times forward earnings.