Eaton (NYSE:ETN) Shares Gap Up – Time to Buy?

Eaton Co. plc (NYSE:ETN)’s share price gapped up before the market opened on Wednesday . The stock had previously closed at $357.63, but opened at $372.27. Eaton shares last traded at $370.47, with a volume of 539,433 shares traded.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have commented on ETN shares. UBS Group began coverage on Eaton in a research note on Wednesday, November 13th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $431.00 price objective on the stock. Bank of America boosted their price objective on shares of Eaton from $350.00 to $410.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 13th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price objective on Eaton from $350.00 to $348.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, January 15th. Evercore ISI downgraded Eaton from an “outperform” rating to an “inline” rating and boosted their target price for the stock from $333.00 to $389.00 in a research report on Wednesday, November 13th. Finally, Mizuho raised their price target on Eaton from $365.00 to $385.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, November 1st. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $368.89.

Eaton Stock Up 3.4 %

The company has a market cap of $146.14 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 39.31, a P/E/G ratio of 2.40 and a beta of 1.06. 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 price of $353.58 and a 200 day moving average price of $330.45.

Eaton (NYSE:ETN) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 31st. The industrial products company reported $2.84 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 return on equity of 21.97% and a net margin of 15.32%. The company’s revenue was up 7.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $2.47 EPS. Sell-side analysts predict that Eaton Co. plc will post 10.79 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity

In other news, insider Ernest W. Marshall, Jr. sold 1,412 shares of Eaton 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 directly owns 31,200 shares in the company, valued at $11,811,696. The trade was a 4.33 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, insider Craig Arnold sold 61,569 shares of Eaton stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $360.97, for a total transaction of $22,224,561.93. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 506,360 shares in the company, valued at approximately $182,780,769.20. This 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 over the last quarter. 0.53% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Eaton

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of ETN. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its position in shares of Eaton by 0.7% in the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 8,069,341 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $2,665,342,000 after buying an additional 56,516 shares in the last quarter. Legal & General Group Plc increased its stake in Eaton by 0.6% in the 2nd quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 3,206,251 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $1,005,317,000 after acquiring an additional 18,077 shares during the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. raised its stake in shares of Eaton by 15.1% during the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 2,421,626 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $836,938,000 after acquiring an additional 316,830 shares in the last quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC increased its position in Eaton by 32.8% during the 3rd quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 2,419,200 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $801,798,000 after buying an additional 597,700 shares in the last quarter. Finally, UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC raised its stake in Eaton by 253.2% during the third quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 2,273,685 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $753,590,000 after buying an additional 1,629,856 shares during the last quarter. 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.