Eaton (NYSE:ETN) Shares Up 0.6% – Here’s Why

Shares of Eaton Co. plc (NYSE:ETN) traded up 0.6% during mid-day trading on Wednesday . The company traded as high as $349.28 and last traded at $349.15. 328,600 shares changed hands during 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

ETN has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Barclays upped their price objective on Eaton from $320.00 to $353.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 5th. Evercore ISI cut shares of Eaton from an “outperform” rating to an “inline” rating and boosted their price objective for the company from $333.00 to $389.00 in a research report on Wednesday, November 13th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on shares of Eaton from $315.00 to $342.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday, October 7th. Wolfe Research raised Eaton from an “underperform” rating to a “peer perform” rating in a research report on Friday, September 6th. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein initiated coverage on Eaton in a research report on Tuesday, November 5th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $382.00 price target on the stock. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $367.83.

Eaton Price Performance

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 50 day moving average of $356.43 and a 200-day moving average of $326.83. The company has a market cap of $136.09 billion, a PE ratio of 36.63, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.74 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 for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.80 by $0.04. Eaton had a net margin of 15.32% and a return on equity of 21.97%. The firm had revenue of $6.35 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.37 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $2.47 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 7.9% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts predict that Eaton Co. plc will post 10.8 earnings per share for the current year.

Eaton Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.09%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, November 4th. Eaton’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 40.00%.

Insider Activity at Eaton

In related news, insider Ernest W. Marshall, Jr. sold 1,412 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $378.58, for a total transaction of $534,554.96. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 31,200 shares in the company, valued at approximately $11,811,696. The trade was a 4.33 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Gregory R. Page sold 4,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 transaction, the director now directly owns 51,422 shares in the company, valued at $17,241,796.60. This trade represents a 7.22 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 76,981 shares of company stock valued at $27,660,117. 0.33% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Eaton

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in ETN. Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc. boosted its position in shares of Eaton by 108.2% during the 2nd quarter. Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc. now owns 3,019 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $947,000 after acquiring an additional 1,569 shares during the last quarter. Focus Financial Network Inc. grew its stake in shares of Eaton by 23.5% in the 2nd quarter. Focus Financial Network Inc. now owns 1,789 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $557,000 after buying an additional 341 shares during the period. Vicus Capital raised its position in shares of Eaton by 25.0% during the 2nd quarter. Vicus Capital now owns 1,578 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $495,000 after buying an additional 316 shares during the period. Rockland Trust Co. lifted its holdings in Eaton by 37.8% in the second quarter. Rockland Trust Co. now owns 952 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $298,000 after acquiring an additional 261 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Moss Adams Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Eaton in the second quarter worth approximately $218,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.