Mizuho Reaffirms Buy Rating for Eaton (NYSE:ETN)

Mizuho reaffirmed their buy rating on shares of Eaton (NYSE:ETN) in a research note issued to investors on Wednesday morning, Benzinga reports. The firm currently has a $355.00 price objective on the industrial products company’s stock, up from their prior price objective of $340.00.

Other equities research analysts have also recently issued research reports about the stock. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their price target on shares of Eaton from $287.00 to $328.00 and gave the stock a buy rating in a research report on Friday, March 15th. Royal Bank of Canada upgraded Eaton from a sector perform rating to an outperform rating and upped their target price for the stock from $286.00 to $371.00 in a report on Friday, April 5th. Wolfe Research reissued an underperform rating and issued a $312.00 price target on shares of Eaton in a research report on Monday, April 8th. Bank of America lifted their target price on Eaton from $320.00 to $330.00 and gave the company a buy rating in a research note on Monday, March 18th. Finally, Citigroup raised their price target on shares of Eaton from $270.00 to $310.00 and gave the company a buy rating in a report on Friday, February 2nd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating and twelve have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus price target of $314.27.

Eaton Stock Up 2.0 %

Shares of NYSE ETN opened at $320.50 on Wednesday. Eaton has a 52-week low of $165.24 and a 52-week high of $333.05. The firm has a market capitalization of $128.14 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 37.84, a PEG ratio of 2.49 and a beta of 1.06. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $307.97 and a 200 day moving average price of $261.18. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.42, a quick ratio of 1.02 and a current ratio of 1.56.

Eaton (NYSE:ETN) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, April 30th. The industrial products company reported $2.40 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.28 by $0.12. The business had revenue of $5.94 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.91 billion. Eaton had a return on equity of 20.69% and a net margin of 14.38%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $1.88 EPS. Sell-side analysts expect that Eaton will post 10.45 earnings per share for the current year.

Eaton Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 24th. Investors of record on Monday, May 6th will be issued a dividend of $0.94 per share. This represents a $3.76 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.17%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 3rd. Eaton’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 44.39%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Eaton news, insider Ernest W. Marshall, Jr. sold 19,750 shares of Eaton stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $273.17, for a total transaction of $5,395,107.50. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 29,712 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,116,427.04. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In other news, insider Ernest W. Marshall, Jr. sold 19,750 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 7th. The stock was 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 sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, insider Peter Denk sold 1,731 shares of the company’s 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 sale, the insider now owns 5,514 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,593,380.58. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 38,969 shares of company stock worth $10,904,774. 0.53% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Eaton

Large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Tennessee Valley Asset Management Partners purchased a new position in Eaton in the fourth quarter valued at $25,000. LifeSteps Financial Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Eaton during the 1st quarter valued at about $25,000. Atwood & Palmer Inc. increased its stake in shares of Eaton by 142.9% in the 1st quarter. Atwood & Palmer Inc. now owns 85 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $27,000 after purchasing an additional 50 shares in the last quarter. Clear Investment Research LLC purchased a new position in Eaton during the fourth quarter worth approximately $29,000. Finally, Redmont Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Eaton in the first quarter valued at approximately $33,000. 82.97% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.