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

Eaton Co. plc (NYSE:ETN) has received an average recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the seventeen research firms that are covering the stock, Marketbeat reports. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and thirteen have assigned a buy recommendation to the company. The average 1-year price objective among brokerages that have covered the stock in the last year is $369.28.

Several research analysts recently weighed in on ETN shares. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price target on Eaton from $365.00 to $350.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, January 7th. Sanford C. Bernstein assumed coverage on shares of Eaton in a research report on Tuesday, November 5th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $382.00 price target for the company. Bank of America upped their price objective on shares of Eaton from $350.00 to $410.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 13th. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their price target on shares of Eaton from $400.00 to $440.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, December 6th. Finally, Evercore ISI cut Eaton from an “outperform” rating to an “inline” rating and lifted their price objective for the company from $333.00 to $389.00 in a research report on Wednesday, November 13th.

Eaton Price Performance

NYSE:ETN opened at $341.54 on Monday. Eaton has a 52-week low of $236.04 and a 52-week high of $379.99. The company has a quick ratio of 1.00, a current ratio of 1.53 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.45. The firm has a market cap of $134.98 billion, a P/E ratio of 36.33, a PEG ratio of 2.70 and a beta of 1.06. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $355.14 and its 200 day moving average price is $328.96.

Eaton (NYSE:ETN) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The industrial products company reported $2.84 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.80 by $0.04. Eaton had a return on equity of 21.97% and a net margin of 15.32%. The business had revenue of $6.35 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.37 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $2.47 earnings per share. Eaton’s revenue was up 7.9% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Eaton will post 10.8 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Eaton Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 22nd. Shareholders of record on Monday, November 4th were issued a dividend of $0.94 per share. This represents a $3.76 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.10%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, November 4th. Eaton’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 40.00%.

Insider Transactions at Eaton

In other news, insider Craig Arnold sold 61,569 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, November 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $360.97, for a total transaction of $22,224,561.93. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 506,360 shares in the company, valued at approximately $182,780,769.20. The trade was a 10.84 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director Gregory R. Page sold 10,000 shares of Eaton stock in a transaction on Friday, December 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $355.98, for a total transaction of $3,559,800.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 43,203 shares in the company, valued at $15,379,403.94. This represents a 18.80 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 76,981 shares of company stock worth $27,660,117. Company insiders own 0.53% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of ETN. Westover Capital Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Eaton in the second quarter valued at approximately $309,000. Parallel Advisors LLC raised its position in Eaton by 4.9% in the 2nd quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC now owns 7,444 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $2,334,000 after purchasing an additional 347 shares during the last quarter. Prosperity Consulting Group LLC boosted its stake in Eaton by 11.3% in the second quarter. Prosperity Consulting Group LLC now owns 2,221 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $696,000 after purchasing an additional 225 shares in the last quarter. J.W. Cole Advisors Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Eaton by 1.7% during the second quarter. J.W. Cole Advisors Inc. now owns 2,053 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $644,000 after purchasing an additional 35 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Lyell Wealth Management LP increased its stake in shares of Eaton by 6.8% in the second quarter. Lyell Wealth Management LP now owns 1,107 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $347,000 after buying an additional 70 shares in the last quarter. 82.97% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Eaton Company Profile

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.