Eaton (NYSE:ETN) Sets New 12-Month High – What’s Next?

Eaton Co. plc (NYSE:ETN)’s share price hit a new 52-week high on Monday . The company traded as high as $345.57 and last traded at $345.15, with a volume of 276855 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $341.39.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have recently commented on ETN shares. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their target price on shares of Eaton from $370.00 to $385.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 11th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on shares of Eaton from $315.00 to $342.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday, October 7th. Evercore ISI cut their target price on shares of Eaton from $357.00 to $333.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, August 19th. Barclays boosted their target price on shares of Eaton from $319.00 to $327.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 2nd. Finally, Morgan Stanley initiated coverage on shares of Eaton in a research note on Friday, September 6th. They set an “overweight” rating and a $370.00 target price for the company. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $339.47.

Eaton Stock Performance

The stock has a market capitalization of $138.17 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 40.31, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.58 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 firm’s fifty day moving average price is $307.72 and its 200 day moving average price is $315.60.

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

Eaton Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed 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 dividend yield of 1.09%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, August 5th. Eaton’s dividend payout ratio is presently 44.39%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Eaton

In other Eaton news, insider Taras G. Jr. Szmagala sold 335 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $288.72, for a total value of $96,721.20. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 9,900 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,858,328. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. In related news, Director Dorothy C. Thompson bought 2,205 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, September 3rd. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $300.30 per share, with a total value of $662,161.50. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 2,205 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $662,161.50. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, insider Taras G. Jr. Szmagala sold 335 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, August 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $288.72, for a total transaction of $96,721.20. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 9,900 shares in the company, valued at $2,858,328. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 52,511 shares of company stock valued at $15,809,326. Insiders own 0.53% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Creative Planning grew its position in Eaton by 2.7% during the 3rd quarter. Creative Planning now owns 181,067 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $60,013,000 after purchasing an additional 4,705 shares during the last quarter. Wesbanco Bank Inc. grew its position in Eaton by 8.2% during the 3rd quarter. Wesbanco Bank Inc. now owns 73,011 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $24,199,000 after purchasing an additional 5,539 shares during the last quarter. Elmwood Wealth Management Inc. purchased a new position in Eaton during the 3rd quarter worth $751,000. Affinity Wealth Management LLC grew its position in Eaton by 0.7% during the 3rd quarter. Affinity Wealth Management LLC now owns 12,952 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $4,293,000 after purchasing an additional 86 shares during the last quarter. Finally, ORG Wealth Partners LLC purchased a new position in Eaton during the 3rd quarter worth $140,000. 82.97% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.