JPMorgan Chase & Co. Issues Pessimistic Forecast for Eaton (NYSE:ETN) Stock Price

Eaton (NYSE:ETN) had its price objective trimmed by JPMorgan Chase & Co. from $350.00 to $348.00 in a research report sent to investors on Wednesday morning,Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has an overweight rating on the industrial products company’s stock.

A number of other equities research analysts have also issued reports on the stock. UBS Group assumed coverage on shares of Eaton in a report on Wednesday, November 13th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $431.00 price objective for the company. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price target on shares of Eaton from $365.00 to $350.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, January 7th. Bank of America upped their price objective on Eaton from $350.00 to $410.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 13th. Royal Bank of Canada raised their target price on Eaton from $374.00 to $392.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, January 3rd. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group upped their price target on Eaton from $400.00 to $440.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, December 6th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $368.89.

Eaton Stock Up 0.6 %

Shares of NYSE ETN opened at $342.35 on Wednesday. The stock has a market cap of $135.30 billion, a PE ratio of 36.42, a P/E/G ratio of 2.27 and a beta of 1.06. The company has a current ratio of 1.53, a quick ratio of 1.00 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.45. Eaton has a 12-month low of $236.04 and a 12-month high of $379.99. The company has a 50-day moving average of $355.38 and a 200 day moving average of $329.33.

Eaton (NYSE:ETN) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The industrial products company reported $2.84 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates 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 analyst estimates of $6.37 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $2.47 earnings per share. The business’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 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Eaton Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 22nd. Stockholders of record on Monday, November 4th were paid a $0.94 dividend. This represents a $3.76 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.10%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, November 4th. Eaton’s payout ratio is currently 40.00%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Eaton news, insider Ernest W. Marshall, Jr. sold 1,412 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $378.58, for a total transaction of $534,554.96. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 31,200 shares in the company, valued at $11,811,696. The trade was a 4.33 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, Director Gregory R. Page sold 4,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, November 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $335.30, for a total transaction of $1,341,200.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 51,422 shares in the company, valued at $17,241,796.60. The trade was a 7.22 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 76,981 shares of company stock valued at $27,660,117 in the last three months. 0.33% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. One Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in Eaton in the second quarter valued at approximately $511,000. Edgestream Partners L.P. grew its position in shares of Eaton by 98.5% in the 2nd quarter. Edgestream Partners L.P. now owns 1,989 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $624,000 after buying an additional 987 shares during the last quarter. Bradley Foster & Sargent Inc. CT raised its stake in Eaton by 81.8% during the 2nd quarter. Bradley Foster & Sargent Inc. CT now owns 16,686 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $5,232,000 after acquiring an additional 7,510 shares in the last quarter. SYSTM Wealth Solutions LLC lifted its position in Eaton by 97.5% in the second quarter. SYSTM Wealth Solutions LLC now owns 2,246 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $704,000 after acquiring an additional 1,109 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV grew its holdings in shares of Eaton by 1.1% during the second quarter. Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV now owns 168,435 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $52,813,000 after purchasing an additional 1,836 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors 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.