Analysts Set Eaton Co. plc (NYSE:ETN) Price Target at $367.83

Shares of Eaton Co. plc (NYSE:ETN) have received a consensus recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the seventeen ratings firms that are currently covering the company, MarketBeat reports. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have issued a buy rating on the company. The average 12 month price objective among brokers that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $367.83.

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on ETN. UBS Group began coverage on shares of Eaton in a research note on Wednesday, November 13th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $431.00 price target for the company. Bank of America increased their price target on shares of Eaton from $350.00 to $410.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 13th. Evercore ISI lowered Eaton from an “outperform” rating to an “inline” rating and boosted their price objective for the company from $333.00 to $389.00 in a report on Wednesday, November 13th. Jefferies Financial Group increased their target price on Eaton from $400.00 to $440.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, December 6th. Finally, Citigroup boosted their price target on Eaton from $394.00 to $440.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, December 9th.

Insider Transactions at Eaton

In other news, insider Craig Arnold sold 61,569 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, November 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $360.97, for a total value of $22,224,561.93. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 506,360 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $182,780,769.20. This represents a 10.84 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director Gregory R. Page sold 4,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $335.30, for a total transaction of $1,341,200.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 51,422 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $17,241,796.60. This trade represents a 7.22 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders sold 76,981 shares of company stock worth $27,660,117. Company insiders own 0.33% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Eaton

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Principal Financial Group Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Eaton by 4.1% in the third quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 457,350 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $151,584,000 after buying an additional 17,965 shares during the period. B. Riley Wealth Advisors Inc. raised its position in Eaton by 48.9% in the third quarter. B. Riley Wealth Advisors Inc. now owns 41,106 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $13,533,000 after acquiring an additional 13,497 shares in the last quarter. Legacy Wealth Management LLC MS acquired a new stake in Eaton in the 3rd quarter valued at about $385,000. 1ST Source Bank boosted its position in shares of Eaton by 16.6% during the 3rd quarter. 1ST Source Bank now owns 2,808 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $931,000 after purchasing an additional 400 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Logan Capital Management Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Eaton by 76.8% in the 3rd quarter. Logan Capital Management Inc. now owns 24,771 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $8,210,000 after purchasing an additional 10,764 shares in the last quarter. 82.97% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Eaton Stock Performance

Eaton stock opened at $341.54 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.45, a current ratio of 1.53 and a quick ratio of 1.00. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $356.19 and its 200 day moving average price is $327.58. The company has a market capitalization of $134.98 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 36.33, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.74 and a beta of 1.03. Eaton has a 12-month low of $231.84 and a 12-month high of $379.99.

Eaton (NYSE:ETN) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The industrial products company reported $2.84 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.80 by $0.04. Eaton had a return on equity of 21.97% and a net margin of 15.32%. The business had revenue of $6.35 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.37 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $2.47 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was up 7.9% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts forecast that Eaton will post 10.8 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Eaton Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 22nd. Shareholders of record on Monday, November 4th were paid a $0.94 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, November 4th. This represents a $3.76 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.10%. Eaton’s payout ratio is currently 40.00%.

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.