Raymond James Begins Coverage on Eaton (NYSE:ETN)

Raymond James began coverage on shares of Eaton (NYSE:ETN) in a report issued on Friday, Marketbeat.com reports. The firm issued an outperform rating and a $375.00 price target on the industrial products company’s stock.

Other equities analysts have also recently issued research reports about the company. Royal Bank of Canada upgraded Eaton from a sector perform rating to an outperform rating and upped their price target for the stock from $286.00 to $371.00 in a report on Friday, April 5th. Wolfe Research reaffirmed an underperform rating and set a $312.00 target price on shares of Eaton in a research report on Monday, April 8th. Argus increased their price target on Eaton from $290.00 to $350.00 and gave the company a buy rating in a report on Thursday, May 2nd. Bank of America lifted their price objective on Eaton from $320.00 to $330.00 and gave the stock a buy rating in a report on Monday, March 18th. Finally, HSBC upped their price target on shares of Eaton from $240.00 to $280.00 and gave the company a hold rating in a report on Friday, May 3rd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating and thirteen have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Eaton has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and an average target price of $318.06.

Eaton Stock Down 0.4 %

ETN opened at $312.19 on Friday. Eaton has a 1 year low of $191.82 and a 1 year high of $345.19. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $325.35 and a 200 day moving average price of $293.12. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.42, a quick ratio of 1.05 and a current ratio of 1.56. The company has a market cap of $124.81 billion, a PE ratio of 36.88, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.64 and a beta of 1.02.

Eaton (NYSE:ETN) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, April 30th. The industrial products company reported $2.40 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.28 by $0.12. Eaton had a net margin of 14.38% and a return on equity of 20.69%. The business had revenue of $5.94 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.91 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $1.88 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.4% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts expect that Eaton will post 10.56 earnings per share for the current year.

Eaton Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 24th. Stockholders of record on Monday, May 6th were issued a dividend of $0.94 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, May 3rd. This represents a $3.76 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.20%. Eaton’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 44.39%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Eaton news, insider Peter Denk sold 2,416 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $331.84, for a total transaction of $801,725.44. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 5,086 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,687,738.24. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Corporate insiders own 0.33% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Eaton

A number of large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in ETN. Ritholtz Wealth Management lifted its stake in Eaton by 5.1% in the 4th quarter. Ritholtz Wealth Management now owns 5,724 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $1,379,000 after acquiring an additional 277 shares in the last quarter. Pinnbrook Capital Management LP acquired a new position in shares of Eaton in the fourth quarter worth $15,109,000. Congress Wealth Management LLC DE boosted its position in Eaton by 8.1% during the fourth quarter. Congress Wealth Management LLC DE now owns 76,731 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $18,479,000 after purchasing an additional 5,725 shares during the last quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. boosted its position in Eaton by 30.5% during the fourth quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 34,071 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $8,205,000 after purchasing an additional 7,964 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Weiss Asset Management LP purchased a new position in Eaton in the fourth quarter valued at about $1,001,000. 82.97% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.