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

Eaton Co. plc (NYSE:ETN) has received a consensus recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the nineteen ratings firms that are presently covering the stock, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and fourteen have assigned a buy recommendation to the company. The average 12-month price target among analysts that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $368.78.

A number of equities research analysts have commented on the company. KeyCorp upped their price target on Eaton from $325.00 to $355.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, May 5th. Barclays increased their price target on Eaton from $306.00 to $323.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday. Jefferies Financial Group dropped their target price on Eaton from $390.00 to $335.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, March 12th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on Eaton from $300.00 to $360.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, May 16th. Finally, BNP Paribas Exane began coverage on shares of Eaton in a research report on Thursday, May 15th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $380.00 price objective on the stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Eaton

In related news, insider Craig Arnold sold 103,486 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, May 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $322.75, for a total value of $33,400,106.50. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 490,208 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $158,214,632. This trade represents a 17.43% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, insider Michael Yelton sold 2,120 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $296.87, for a total value of $629,364.40. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 3,382 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,004,014.34. This represents a 38.53% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 156,660 shares of company stock worth $49,622,894. 0.30% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Eaton

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in ETN. Capital A Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in Eaton in the fourth quarter valued at $26,000. Flagship Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Eaton in the 4th quarter valued at about $27,000. Noble Wealth Management PBC acquired a new position in Eaton in the 4th quarter valued at about $30,000. IMA Advisory Services Inc. acquired a new position in Eaton in the 1st quarter valued at about $25,000. Finally, Murphy & Mullick Capital Management Corp acquired a new position in Eaton in the 4th quarter valued at about $33,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 82.97% of the company’s stock.

Eaton Price Performance

Shares of NYSE ETN opened at $325.56 on Thursday. The firm has a market cap of $127.39 billion, a P/E ratio of 34.27, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.64 and a beta of 1.16. Eaton has a 1-year low of $231.85 and a 1-year high of $379.99. The company has a current ratio of 1.50, a quick ratio of 0.96 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.46. The business’s 50 day moving average is $301.79 and its 200-day moving average is $315.72.

Eaton (NYSE:ETN) last issued its earnings results on Friday, May 2nd. The industrial products company reported $2.72 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.70 by $0.02. The firm had revenue of $6.38 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.26 billion. Eaton had a return on equity of 22.62% and a net margin of 15.25%. The company’s revenue was up 7.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $2.40 EPS. Equities research analysts predict that Eaton will post 12.02 earnings per share for the current year.

Eaton Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 23rd. Investors of record on Monday, May 5th were given a dividend of $1.04 per share. This represents a $4.16 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.28%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, May 5th. Eaton’s dividend payout ratio is currently 41.98%.

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.