Eaton (NYSE:ETN) Trading Up 0.2% After Analyst Upgrade

Eaton Co. plc (NYSE:ETN) was up 0.2% during trading on Wednesday after Barclays raised their price target on the stock from $319.00 to $327.00. Barclays currently has an equal weight rating on the stock. Eaton traded as high as $329.31 and last traded at $328.26. Approximately 238,310 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 89% from the average daily volume of 2,166,223 shares. The stock had previously closed at $327.58.

ETN has been the subject of a number of other research reports. Evercore ISI lowered their price objective on Eaton from $357.00 to $333.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, August 19th. Citigroup assumed coverage on shares of Eaton in a research note on Monday, September 16th. They set a “buy” rating and a $348.00 price objective for the company. Wolfe Research upgraded shares of Eaton from an “underperform” rating to a “peer perform” rating in a report on Friday, September 6th. Jefferies Financial Group increased their target price on Eaton from $370.00 to $385.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 11th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company cut their price objective on Eaton from $320.00 to $315.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, August 2nd. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fourteen have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $337.88.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Dorothy C. Thompson purchased 2,205 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, September 3rd. The shares were bought at an average cost of $300.30 per share, for a total transaction of $662,161.50. Following the transaction, the director now owns 2,205 shares in the company, valued at $662,161.50. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. In related news, insider Heath B. Monesmith sold 49,040 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $301.02, for a total value of $14,762,020.80. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 71,262 shares in the company, valued at approximately $21,451,287.24. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Dorothy C. Thompson bought 2,205 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, September 3rd. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $300.30 per share, for a total transaction of $662,161.50. Following the acquisition, the director now directly owns 2,205 shares in the company, valued at $662,161.50. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders sold 52,511 shares of company stock worth $15,809,326 over the last ninety days. Company insiders own 0.53% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Legacy Capital Group California Inc. increased its stake in Eaton by 1.2% during the second quarter. Legacy Capital Group California Inc. now owns 2,776 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $870,000 after acquiring an additional 32 shares during the period. Well Done LLC increased its position in shares of Eaton by 1.3% during the second quarter. Well Done LLC now owns 2,551 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $800,000 after purchasing an additional 33 shares during the period. J.W. Cole Advisors Inc. raised its stake in shares of Eaton by 1.7% in the second quarter. J.W. Cole Advisors Inc. now owns 2,053 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $644,000 after purchasing an additional 35 shares in the last quarter. Front Row Advisors LLC lifted its position in Eaton by 0.4% in the second quarter. Front Row Advisors LLC now owns 7,842 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $2,459,000 after purchasing an additional 35 shares during the period. Finally, Fragasso Group Inc. boosted its stake in Eaton by 3.6% during the first quarter. Fragasso Group Inc. now owns 1,032 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $323,000 after buying an additional 36 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 82.97% of the company’s stock.

Eaton Price Performance

The stock has a market cap of $130.72 billion, a P/E ratio of 38.60, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.53 and a beta of 1.02. The company has a current ratio of 1.56, a quick ratio of 1.07 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.44. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $302.61 and its 200-day simple moving average is $314.43.

Eaton (NYSE:ETN) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 1st. The industrial products company reported $2.73 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.61 by $0.12. The firm had revenue of $6.35 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.35 billion. Eaton had a net margin of 15.12% and a return on equity of 21.45%. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Eaton Co. plc will post 10.75 EPS for the current year.

Eaton Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 23rd. Shareholders of record on Monday, August 5th were given a $0.94 dividend. This represents a $3.76 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.15%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, August 5th. 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.