Eaton (NYSE:ETN) Shares Up 0.9% – What’s Next?

Eaton Co. plc (NYSE:ETN) shares were up 0.9% during mid-day trading on Wednesday . The company traded as high as $378.47 and last traded at $377.25. Approximately 310,278 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 85% from the average daily volume of 2,087,479 shares. The stock had previously closed at $373.75.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

ETN has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. UBS Group initiated coverage on Eaton in a research note on Wednesday, November 13th. They set a “buy” rating and a $431.00 price objective on the stock. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $374.00 price target on shares of Eaton in a research report on Friday, November 1st. Wolfe Research raised Eaton from an “underperform” rating to a “peer perform” rating in a research note on Friday, September 6th. Mizuho upped their price target on Eaton from $365.00 to $385.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, November 1st. Finally, Evercore ISI downgraded Eaton from an “outperform” rating to an “inline” rating and upped their price target for the company from $333.00 to $389.00 in a report on Wednesday, November 13th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Eaton presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $357.83.

Eaton Stock Performance

The company has a quick ratio of 1.00, a current ratio of 1.53 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.45. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $350.14 and a 200-day simple moving average of $325.01. The company has a market cap of $149.20 billion, a PE ratio of 40.13, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.82 and a beta of 1.03.

Eaton (NYSE:ETN) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 31st. The industrial products company reported $2.84 earnings per share (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 firm had revenue of $6.35 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.37 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $2.47 earnings per share. Eaton’s revenue was up 7.9% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts forecast that Eaton Co. plc will post 10.8 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Eaton Announces Dividend

The firm 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. This represents a $3.76 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.00%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, November 4th. Eaton’s payout ratio is 40.00%.

Insider Activity

In other news, insider Ernest W. Marshall, Jr. sold 1,412 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, November 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $378.58, for a total value of $534,554.96. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 31,200 shares in the company, valued at $11,811,696. This represents a 4.33 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, insider Craig Arnold sold 61,569 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction 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 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 ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 66,981 shares of company stock valued at $24,100,317 in the last three months. Corporate insiders own 0.33% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Eaton

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Strategic Wealth Partners Ltd. increased its holdings in shares of Eaton by 3.0% during the 3rd quarter. Strategic Wealth Partners Ltd. now owns 1,027 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $340,000 after acquiring an additional 30 shares during the last quarter. Fairfield Financial Advisors LTD raised its position in Eaton by 16.2% in the 3rd quarter. Fairfield Financial Advisors LTD now owns 215 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $71,000 after purchasing an additional 30 shares during the last quarter. Legacy Capital Group California Inc. raised its position in Eaton by 1.2% in the 2nd quarter. Legacy Capital Group California Inc. now owns 2,776 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $870,000 after purchasing an additional 32 shares during the last quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Eaton by 2.1% in the 3rd quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,549 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $513,000 after buying an additional 32 shares during the period. Finally, Well Done LLC grew its stake 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 worth $800,000 after purchasing an additional 33 shares during the period. 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.