Eaton Co. plc (NYSE:ETN) Receives Consensus Recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from Brokerages

Shares of Eaton Co. plc (NYSE:ETN) have earned an average recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the fifteen brokerages that are presently covering the company, MarketBeat.com reports. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation, three have given a hold recommendation and eleven have assigned a buy recommendation to the company. The average 12-month target price among analysts that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $314.27.

Several equities research analysts have commented on ETN shares. Barclays upgraded Eaton from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and upped their price target for the stock from $250.00 to $300.00 in a research note on Tuesday, April 2nd. Berenberg Bank upped their price target on Eaton from $200.00 to $345.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 6th. UBS Group upped 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. HSBC upped their price target on Eaton from $240.00 to $280.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, May 3rd. Finally, Bank of America increased 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.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Eaton news, insider Heath B. Monesmith sold 13,027 shares of Eaton stock in a transaction on Monday, March 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $291.40, for a total transaction of $3,796,067.80. Following the sale, the insider now owns 69,472 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $20,244,140.80. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In other Eaton news, insider Heath B. Monesmith sold 13,027 shares of Eaton stock in a transaction on Monday, March 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $291.40, for a total transaction of $3,796,067.80. Following the sale, the insider now owns 69,472 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $20,244,140.80. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, insider Olivier Leonetti sold 4,461 shares of Eaton stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $272.00, for a total value of $1,213,392.00. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 630 shares in the company, valued at $171,360. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 19,219 shares of company stock valued at $5,509,667. Insiders own 0.33% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Eaton

Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of ETN. Brown Advisory Inc. raised its stake in Eaton by 5.3% during the 3rd quarter. Brown Advisory Inc. now owns 37,399 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $7,977,000 after purchasing an additional 1,871 shares during the period. Advisor Partners II LLC raised its stake in Eaton by 1.9% during the 3rd quarter. Advisor Partners II LLC now owns 20,594 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $4,392,000 after purchasing an additional 380 shares during the period. Graypoint LLC raised its stake in Eaton by 6.1% during the 3rd quarter. Graypoint LLC now owns 5,167 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $1,102,000 after purchasing an additional 295 shares during the period. CENTRAL TRUST Co raised its stake in Eaton by 3.0% during the 3rd quarter. CENTRAL TRUST Co now owns 17,400 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $3,711,000 after purchasing an additional 513 shares during the period. Finally, North Star Asset Management Inc. acquired a new stake in Eaton during the 3rd quarter valued at $394,000. 82.97% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Eaton Stock Up 0.0 %

Shares of NYSE:ETN opened at $327.30 on Wednesday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.05, a current ratio of 1.56 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.42. Eaton has a 52-week low of $165.24 and a 52-week high of $333.05. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $310.41 and its 200-day simple moving average is $264.55. The company has a market capitalization of $130.85 billion, a P/E ratio of 38.64, a P/E/G ratio of 2.54 and a beta of 1.06.

Eaton (NYSE:ETN) last released 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. Eaton had a return on equity of 20.69% and a net margin of 14.38%. The firm had revenue of $5.94 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.91 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $1.88 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.4% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Eaton will post 10.45 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Eaton Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 24th. Investors of record on Monday, May 6th will be issued a $0.94 dividend. This represents a $3.76 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.15%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 3rd. Eaton’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 44.39%.

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.