Eaton Corporation, PLC (NYSE:ETN) Receives Average Rating of “Moderate Buy” from Analysts

Shares of Eaton Corporation, PLC (NYSE:ETN) have been given a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” by the twenty research firms that are presently covering the company, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirteen have given a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company. The average 1 year target price among brokerages that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $395.1053.

Several equities research analysts recently commented on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on shares of Eaton from $340.00 to $370.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 4th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price objective on Eaton from $440.00 to $406.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, January 16th. Sanford C. Bernstein reissued an “outperform” rating on shares of Eaton in a report on Tuesday, January 27th. Morgan Stanley reissued an “overweight” rating and issued a $425.00 target price on shares of Eaton in a research report on Wednesday, February 4th. Finally, Wolfe Research raised Eaton from a “peer perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $413.00 price target on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, December 9th.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, insider Sternadt Paulo Ruiz sold 10,707 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $390.26, for a total value of $4,178,513.82. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 27,729 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $10,821,519.54. This represents a 27.86% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 0.30% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Eaton

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Hilton Head Capital Partners LLC acquired a new stake in Eaton during the 4th quarter worth approximately $26,000. Sfam LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Eaton during the fourth quarter worth approximately $27,000. Gunpowder Capital Management LLC dba Oliver Wealth Management acquired a new stake in shares of Eaton during the fourth quarter worth $28,000. Eagle Bay Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Eaton in the 4th quarter valued at $29,000. Finally, WFA of San Diego LLC acquired a new position in Eaton in the 2nd quarter valued at $36,000. 82.97% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Eaton Stock Down 0.9%

Shares of NYSE ETN opened at $357.01 on Friday. The business has a 50-day moving average of $359.32 and a two-hundred day moving average of $355.60. The company has a market capitalization of $138.52 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 34.13, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.48 and a beta of 1.17. Eaton has a 1 year low of $231.85 and a 1 year high of $408.45. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.45, a current ratio of 1.32 and a quick ratio of 0.81.

Eaton (NYSE:ETN) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, February 26th. The industrial products company reported $3.23 earnings per share for the quarter. Eaton had a return on equity of 25.00% and a net margin of 14.89%. On average, analysts forecast that Eaton will post 12.02 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Eaton Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 27th. Investors of record on Tuesday, March 10th will be paid a dividend of $1.10 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, March 10th. This represents a $4.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.2%. This is an increase from Eaton’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.04. Eaton’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 42.07%.

About Eaton

Eaton (NYSE: ETN) is a diversified power management company that designs, manufactures and distributes products and systems to manage electrical, hydraulic and mechanical power. The company’s offerings are used to improve energy efficiency, reliability and safety across a wide range of applications, with core capabilities in electrical distribution and control, industrial hydraulics and aerospace systems.

Its product portfolio includes switchgear, circuit breakers, transformers, power distribution units, uninterruptible power supplies and surge protection devices for electrical infrastructure, along with hydraulic pumps, valves and filtration systems for industrial and mobile equipment.