Eaton (NYSE:ETN) Trading Up 0.2% – Time to Buy?

Eaton Co. plc (NYSE:ETN) rose 0.2% during trading on Wednesday . The company traded as high as $365.00 and last traded at $359.38. Approximately 879,811 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 58% from the average daily volume of 2,082,573 shares. The stock had previously closed at $358.49.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on the company. Mizuho boosted their price objective on Eaton from $365.00 to $385.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, November 1st. Sanford C. Bernstein assumed coverage on shares of Eaton in a research report on Tuesday, November 5th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $382.00 price objective on the stock. Evercore ISI cut Eaton from an “outperform” rating to an “inline” rating and increased their target price for the stock from $333.00 to $389.00 in a report on Wednesday, November 13th. Barclays increased their price objective on Eaton from $320.00 to $353.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, December 5th. Finally, Raymond James decreased their price target on shares of Eaton from $375.00 to $365.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, September 9th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $367.83.

Eaton Trading Up 1.5 %

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.45, a quick ratio of 1.00 and a current ratio of 1.53. The stock has a market capitalization of $143.80 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 38.23, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.81 and a beta of 1.03. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $354.02 and a 200 day simple moving average of $326.12.

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

Eaton Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 22nd. Stockholders of record on Monday, November 4th were given a $0.94 dividend. This represents a $3.76 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.03%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, November 4th. Eaton’s payout ratio is presently 40.00%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, insider Ernest W. Marshall, Jr. sold 1,412 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, November 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $378.58, for a total transaction of $534,554.96. Following the sale, the insider now owns 31,200 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $11,811,696. This trade represents a 4.33 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director Gregory R. Page sold 4,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $335.30, for a total value of $1,341,200.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 51,422 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $17,241,796.60. The trade was a 7.22 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 66,981 shares of company stock worth $24,100,317 over the last three months. Insiders own 0.53% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Eaton

Large investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Interval Partners LP grew its stake in Eaton by 82.7% during the second quarter. Interval Partners LP now owns 151,716 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $47,571,000 after purchasing an additional 68,693 shares during the period. Scientech Research LLC increased its stake in shares of Eaton by 285.5% in the 2nd quarter. Scientech Research LLC now owns 5,744 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $1,801,000 after acquiring an additional 4,254 shares in the last quarter. B. Riley Wealth Advisors Inc. lifted its position in shares of Eaton by 25.9% during the 2nd quarter. B. Riley Wealth Advisors Inc. now owns 27,609 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $8,657,000 after acquiring an additional 5,676 shares during the period. Leavell Investment Management Inc. boosted its stake in Eaton by 67.6% during the second quarter. Leavell Investment Management Inc. now owns 8,556 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $2,683,000 after acquiring an additional 3,452 shares in the last quarter. Finally, SteelPeak Wealth LLC acquired a new stake in Eaton in the second quarter worth $526,000. Institutional investors own 82.97% of the company’s stock.

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.