Eaton Co. plc (NYSE:ETN) Receives Average Rating of “Moderate Buy” from Analysts

Eaton Co. plc (NYSE:ETN) has received a consensus recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the fifteen analysts that are presently covering the company, MarketBeat Ratings reports. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating and eleven have assigned a buy rating to the company. The average 12-month price target among brokerages that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $295.60.

A number of research analysts have commented on the stock. Bank of America increased their price objective on shares of Eaton from $320.00 to $330.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, March 18th. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their price objective on shares of Eaton from $287.00 to $328.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, March 15th. Mizuho increased their price objective on shares of Eaton from $300.00 to $340.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 20th. Evercore ISI raised their price target on shares of Eaton from $262.00 to $308.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 20th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada upgraded shares of Eaton from a “sector perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and raised their price target for the stock from $286.00 to $371.00 in a research report on Friday, April 5th.

Eaton Price Performance

Shares of ETN stock opened at $303.22 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $121.14 billion, a PE ratio of 37.81, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.57 and a beta of 1.07. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $300.70 and a 200-day simple moving average of $254.56. The company has a current ratio of 1.51, a quick ratio of 1.02 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.43. Eaton has a twelve month low of $161.12 and a twelve month high of $331.47.

Eaton (NYSE:ETN) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 1st. The industrial products company reported $2.55 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.47 by $0.08. Eaton had a net margin of 13.88% and a return on equity of 20.05%. The firm had revenue of $5.97 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.91 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $2.06 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 10.8% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts anticipate that Eaton will post 10.28 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Eaton Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 29th. Investors of record on Monday, March 11th were given a $0.94 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, March 8th. This is an increase from Eaton’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.86. This represents a $3.76 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.24%. Eaton’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 46.88%.

Insider Activity at Eaton

In related news, insider Peter Denk sold 1,731 shares of Eaton stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $288.97, for a total value of $500,207.07. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 5,514 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,593,380.58. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. In other Eaton news, insider Olivier Leonetti sold 4,461 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $272.00, for a total transaction of $1,213,392.00. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 630 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $171,360. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, insider Peter Denk sold 1,731 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $288.97, for a total transaction of $500,207.07. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 5,514 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,593,380.58. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 38,969 shares of company stock worth $10,904,774 in the last ninety days. 0.53% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Eaton

Several hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Fragasso Group Inc. grew its stake in shares of Eaton by 3.6% in the 1st quarter. Fragasso Group Inc. now owns 1,032 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $323,000 after purchasing an additional 36 shares during the last quarter. Valley National Advisers Inc. grew its stake in shares of Eaton by 5.6% in the 1st quarter. Valley National Advisers Inc. now owns 682 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $213,000 after purchasing an additional 36 shares during the last quarter. FinTrust Capital Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of Eaton by 2.6% in the 4th quarter. FinTrust Capital Advisors LLC now owns 1,481 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $357,000 after purchasing an additional 37 shares during the last quarter. Meeder Asset Management Inc. grew its stake in shares of Eaton by 3.3% in the 4th quarter. Meeder Asset Management Inc. now owns 1,315 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $317,000 after purchasing an additional 42 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Telemus Capital LLC increased its position in shares of Eaton by 1.0% in the fourth quarter. Telemus Capital LLC now owns 4,111 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $990,000 after acquiring an additional 42 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 82.97% of the company’s stock.

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.