Eaton Co. plc (NYSE:ETN) Receives Consensus Rating of “Moderate Buy” from Analysts

Shares of Eaton Co. plc (NYSE:ETN) have received an average recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the sixteen research firms that are presently covering the company, Marketbeat Ratings reports. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation, three have issued a hold recommendation and twelve have issued a buy recommendation on the company. The average 1 year price objective among brokerages that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $318.06.

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on ETN. Bank of America lifted their price objective on shares of Eaton from $320.00 to $330.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, March 18th. Mizuho restated a “buy” rating and set a $355.00 target price (up previously from $340.00) on shares of Eaton in a research report on Wednesday, May 1st. Barclays raised shares of Eaton from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and increased their target price for the stock from $250.00 to $300.00 in a research note on Tuesday, April 2nd. Berenberg Bank increased their price target on Eaton from $200.00 to $345.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 6th. Finally, Argus lifted their price objective on shares of Eaton from $290.00 to $350.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, May 2nd.

Eaton Stock Performance

NYSE ETN opened at $312.19 on Thursday. Eaton has a 1 year low of $191.82 and a 1 year high of $345.19. The firm has a market capitalization of $124.81 billion, a P/E ratio of 36.88, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.64 and a beta of 1.02. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $325.35 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $293.12. The company has a current ratio of 1.56, a quick ratio of 1.05 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.42.

Eaton (NYSE:ETN) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, April 30th. The industrial products company reported $2.40 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.28 by $0.12. The business had revenue of $5.94 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.91 billion. Eaton had a net margin of 14.38% and a return on equity of 20.69%. Eaton’s revenue was up 8.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $1.88 EPS. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Eaton will post 10.56 EPS for the current year.

Eaton Dividend Announcement

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

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, insider Peter Denk sold 2,416 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $331.84, for a total value of $801,725.44. Following the sale, the insider now owns 5,086 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,687,738.24. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Company insiders own 0.33% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Tennessee Valley Asset Management Partners purchased a new stake in shares of Eaton in the fourth quarter worth $25,000. LifeSteps Financial Inc. bought a new position in shares of Eaton during the first quarter valued at about $25,000. Atwood & Palmer Inc. grew its stake in shares of Eaton by 142.9% during the first quarter. Atwood & Palmer Inc. now owns 85 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $27,000 after buying an additional 50 shares during the last quarter. Clear Investment Research LLC bought a new position in shares of Eaton during the fourth quarter valued at about $29,000. Finally, Redmont Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Eaton during the first quarter valued at about $33,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 82.97% of the company’s stock.

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.