Eaton Co. plc (NYSE:ETN) Receives $357.16 Average Price Target from Analysts

Shares of Eaton Co. plc (NYSE:ETN) have received a consensus recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the nineteen brokerages that are presently covering the stock, MarketBeat reports. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and twelve have assigned a buy recommendation to the company. The average 1 year price target among brokerages that have covered the stock in the last year is $356.68.

Several research firms have recently weighed in on ETN. Wells Fargo & Company cut their target price on Eaton from $335.00 to $305.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, March 5th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their target price on shares of Eaton from $350.00 to $348.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, January 15th. Jefferies Financial Group dropped their price target on shares of Eaton from $390.00 to $335.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, March 12th. Royal Bank of Canada reduced their price objective on shares of Eaton from $405.00 to $376.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, March 6th. Finally, KeyCorp upgraded Eaton from a “sector weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and set a $340.00 target price for the company in a research report on Wednesday, March 12th.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Eaton

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in ETN. Moody National Bank Trust Division boosted its holdings in shares of Eaton by 4.5% in the 1st quarter. Moody National Bank Trust Division now owns 5,658 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $1,538,000 after buying an additional 242 shares in the last quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc boosted its stake in Eaton by 118.6% in the first quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 1,390 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $378,000 after acquiring an additional 754 shares in the last quarter. Cullen Investment Group LTD. increased its position in shares of Eaton by 1.5% during the first quarter. Cullen Investment Group LTD. now owns 71,792 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $19,515,000 after purchasing an additional 1,066 shares in the last quarter. Neville Rodie & Shaw Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Eaton by 6.7% during the 1st quarter. Neville Rodie & Shaw Inc. now owns 40,944 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $11,130,000 after purchasing an additional 2,558 shares during the last quarter. Finally, MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB boosted its position in shares of Eaton by 32.3% in the 1st quarter. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB now owns 39,359 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $10,699,000 after purchasing an additional 9,615 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 82.97% of the company’s stock.

Eaton Trading Down 5.6 %

Shares of ETN opened at $246.36 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $96.52 billion, a PE ratio of 25.93, a P/E/G ratio of 2.64 and a beta of 1.09. The company’s fifty day moving average is $296.43 and its 200 day moving average is $330.00. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.46, a quick ratio of 0.96 and a current ratio of 1.50. Eaton has a fifty-two week low of $236.58 and a fifty-two week high of $379.99.

Eaton (NYSE:ETN) last announced its earnings results on Friday, January 31st. The industrial products company reported $2.83 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.82 by $0.01. Eaton had a net margin of 15.25% and a return on equity of 22.62%. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $2.55 EPS. Sell-side analysts expect that Eaton will post 12.02 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Eaton Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 28th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 10th were given a $1.04 dividend. This represents a $4.16 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.69%. This is a positive change from Eaton’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.94. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 10th. Eaton’s payout ratio is presently 43.79%.

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.