Eaton (NYSE:ETN) Trading 0.6% Higher – Time to Buy?

Eaton Co. plc (NYSE:ETN) traded up 0.6% during trading on Wednesday . The company traded as high as $349.28 and last traded at $349.15. 328,600 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 84% from the average session volume of 2,074,561 shares. The stock had previously closed at $347.08.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on ETN shares. Mizuho lifted their price target on shares of Eaton from $365.00 to $385.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, November 1st. Barclays boosted their target price on Eaton from $320.00 to $353.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 5th. Jefferies Financial Group raised their price target on Eaton from $400.00 to $440.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, December 6th. UBS Group started coverage on Eaton in a report on Wednesday, November 13th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $431.00 price objective on the stock. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $374.00 price objective on shares of Eaton in a research note on Friday, November 1st. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Eaton currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $367.83.

Eaton Stock Performance

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 has a 50 day moving average of $356.43 and a two-hundred day moving average of $326.83. The stock has a market cap of $136.09 billion, a PE ratio of 36.63, a PEG ratio of 2.74 and a beta of 1.03.

Eaton (NYSE:ETN) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The industrial products company reported $2.84 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.80 by $0.04. The firm had revenue of $6.35 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.37 billion. Eaton had a net margin of 15.32% and a return on equity of 21.97%. Eaton’s quarterly revenue was up 7.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $2.47 earnings per share. Research analysts predict that Eaton Co. plc will post 10.8 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Eaton Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 22nd. Investors of record on Monday, November 4th were given a $0.94 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, November 4th. This represents a $3.76 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.09%. Eaton’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 40.00%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director Gregory R. Page sold 4,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, November 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $335.30, for a total transaction of $1,341,200.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly 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 sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, insider Craig Arnold sold 61,569 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, November 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $360.97, for a total transaction of $22,224,561.93. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 506,360 shares in the company, valued at $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. In the last three months, insiders have sold 76,981 shares of company stock valued at $27,660,117. Insiders own 0.33% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Eaton

Hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. Breakwater Investment Management increased its stake in Eaton by 1,560.0% in the 2nd quarter. Breakwater Investment Management now owns 83 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $26,000 after purchasing an additional 78 shares in the last quarter. Proffitt & Goodson Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Eaton in the 2nd quarter worth about $29,000. Groupama Asset Managment grew its stake in Eaton by 83.2% in the 3rd quarter. Groupama Asset Managment now owns 9,463 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $31,000 after acquiring an additional 4,298 shares during the last quarter. LGT Financial Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Eaton during the 2nd quarter valued at about $33,000. Finally, Morse Asset Management Inc acquired a new position in Eaton during the third quarter worth about $33,000. 82.97% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.