Eaton Co. plc (NYSE:ETN) Given Consensus Rating of “Moderate Buy” by Analysts

Eaton Co. plc (NYSE:ETN) has earned an average recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the fifteen brokerages that are presently covering the company, Marketbeat.com reports. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating and eleven have given a buy rating to the company. The average 1-year price target among analysts that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $314.27.

A number of equities analysts have recently issued reports on ETN shares. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their target price on shares of Eaton from $287.00 to $328.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, March 15th. Wolfe Research restated an “underperform” rating and issued a $312.00 price objective on shares of Eaton in a research note on Monday, April 8th. HSBC increased their target price on shares of Eaton from $240.00 to $280.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, May 3rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on Eaton from $279.00 to $325.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 1st. Finally, Berenberg Bank increased their price objective on Eaton from $200.00 to $345.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 6th.

Eaton Stock Performance

Shares of ETN opened at $315.23 on Thursday. The company has a market capitalization of $126.03 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 37.22, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.70 and a beta of 1.04. Eaton has a 52-week low of $191.82 and a 52-week high of $345.19. The company has a quick ratio of 1.05, a current ratio of 1.56 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.42. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $324.95 and a 200 day moving average price of $291.47.

Eaton (NYSE:ETN) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, April 30th. The industrial products company reported $2.40 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.28 by $0.12. Eaton had a net margin of 14.38% and a return on equity of 20.69%. The business had revenue of $5.94 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.91 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $1.88 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.4% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts predict that Eaton will post 10.56 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Eaton Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 24th. Investors of record on Monday, May 6th were issued a dividend of $0.94 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, May 3rd. This represents a $3.76 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.19%. Eaton’s dividend payout ratio is presently 44.39%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Eaton

In other Eaton news, insider Peter Denk sold 2,416 shares of Eaton stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $331.84, for a total transaction of $801,725.44. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 5,086 shares in the company, valued at $1,687,738.24. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 0.53% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Eaton

Hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Tennessee Valley Asset Management Partners purchased a new position in Eaton during the fourth quarter worth approximately $25,000. LifeSteps Financial Inc. acquired a new position in Eaton in the first quarter valued at $25,000. Atwood & Palmer Inc. grew its position in Eaton by 142.9% during the first quarter. Atwood & Palmer Inc. now owns 85 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $27,000 after acquiring an additional 50 shares during the period. Clear Investment Research LLC acquired a new stake in Eaton during the fourth quarter worth about $29,000. Finally, Redmont Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Eaton in the 1st quarter worth about $33,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 82.97% of the company’s stock.

About Eaton

Eaton Corporation plc operates as a power management company worldwide. The company's Electrical Americas and Electrical Global segment provides electrical components, industrial components, power distribution and assemblies, residential products, single and three phase power quality and connectivity products, wiring devices, circuit protection products, utility power distribution products, power reliability equipment, and services, as well as hazardous duty electrical equipment, emergency lighting, fire detection, explosion-proof instrumentation, and structural support systems.