Eaton (NYSE:ETN) Given “Underperform” Rating at Wolfe Research

Eaton (NYSE:ETN)‘s stock had its “underperform” rating reaffirmed by stock analysts at Wolfe Research in a research note issued on Monday, MarketBeat reports.

A number of other analysts have also weighed in on the company. Bank of America upped their target price on Eaton from $320.00 to $330.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, March 18th. UBS Group boosted their price target on Eaton from $255.00 to $305.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, February 2nd. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on shares of Eaton from $220.00 to $257.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 19th. Barclays raised shares of Eaton from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and raised their price target for the stock from $250.00 to $300.00 in a report on Tuesday, April 2nd. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group raised their price target on shares of Eaton from $287.00 to $328.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, March 15th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating and thirteen have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $287.40.

Eaton Price Performance

Shares of ETN stock opened at $330.51 on Monday. Eaton has a twelve month low of $155.38 and a twelve month high of $331.47. The stock has a market capitalization of $132.04 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 41.21, a P/E/G ratio of 2.75 and a beta of 1.07. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $290.73 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $248.01. 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 (NYSE:ETN) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, February 1st. The industrial products company reported $2.55 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.47 by $0.08. The company had revenue of $5.97 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.91 billion. Eaton had a return on equity of 20.05% and a net margin of 13.88%. Eaton’s revenue was up 10.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $2.06 earnings per share. On average, analysts predict that Eaton will post 10.25 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at Eaton

In related news, insider Ernest W. Marshall, Jr. sold 19,750 shares of Eaton stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $273.17, for a total transaction of $5,395,107.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 29,712 shares in the company, valued at $8,116,427.04. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In related news, insider Peter Denk sold 1,731 shares of Eaton stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $288.97, for a total value of $500,207.07. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 5,514 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,593,380.58. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, insider Ernest W. Marshall, Jr. sold 19,750 shares of Eaton stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $273.17, for a total value of $5,395,107.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 29,712 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $8,116,427.04. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 38,969 shares of company stock worth $10,904,774. 0.33% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Eaton

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. Tennessee Valley Asset Management Partners purchased a new stake in shares of Eaton during the fourth quarter worth about $25,000. PCA Investment Advisory Services Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Eaton during the second quarter worth about $27,000. Clear Investment Research LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Eaton during the fourth quarter worth about $29,000. Coppell Advisory Solutions Corp. purchased a new stake in shares of Eaton during the fourth quarter worth about $30,000. Finally, Global Trust Asset Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Eaton during the third quarter worth about $32,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors 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.