Analysts Set Eaton Co. plc (NYSE:ETN) Price Target at $369.28

Shares of Eaton Co. plc (NYSE:ETN) have been assigned a consensus recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the seventeen research firms that are presently covering the stock, Marketbeat reports. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and thirteen have issued a buy recommendation on the company. The average 1-year target price among brokerages that have covered the stock in the last year is $368.89.

A number of research firms recently issued reports on ETN. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their target price on Eaton from $374.00 to $392.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, January 3rd. Bank of America boosted their target price on shares of Eaton from $350.00 to $410.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 13th. Barclays raised their target price on shares of Eaton from $320.00 to $353.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, December 5th. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price target on Eaton from $365.00 to $350.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, January 7th. Finally, Mizuho lifted their target price on Eaton from $365.00 to $385.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, November 1st.

Eaton Stock Up 0.4 %

ETN stock opened at $346.54 on Monday. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $354.32 and its two-hundred day moving average is $329.89. The company has a current ratio of 1.53, a quick ratio of 1.00 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.45. The company has a market capitalization of $136.95 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 36.87, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.27 and a beta of 1.06. Eaton has a 52 week low of $236.20 and a 52 week high of $379.99.

Eaton (NYSE:ETN) last released its earnings results 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 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 the consensus estimate of $6.37 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $2.47 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.9% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts forecast that Eaton will post 10.8 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Eaton Announces Dividend

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

Insider Transactions at Eaton

In other news, Director Gregory R. Page sold 4,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the director now owns 51,422 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $17,241,796.60. This represents a 7.22 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, insider Craig Arnold sold 61,569 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred 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 transaction, the insider now owns 506,360 shares in the company, valued at approximately $182,780,769.20. This trade represents a 10.84 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 76,981 shares of company stock valued at $27,660,117 in the last three months. Corporate insiders own 0.33% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Eaton

Institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Breakwater Investment Management grew its position in Eaton by 1,560.0% during the second quarter. Breakwater Investment Management now owns 83 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $26,000 after buying an additional 78 shares in the last quarter. Horizon Bancorp Inc. IN grew its holdings in shares of Eaton by 321.7% during the 4th quarter. Horizon Bancorp Inc. IN now owns 97 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $32,000 after purchasing an additional 74 shares in the last quarter. Morse Asset Management Inc bought a new stake in shares of Eaton during the third quarter valued at approximately $33,000. West Financial Advisors LLC bought a new position in Eaton in the third quarter worth $35,000. Finally, DT Investment Partners LLC acquired a new stake in Eaton during the third quarter worth $37,000. 82.97% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.