Eaton (NYSE:ETN) Sees Strong Trading Volume – Here’s Why

Eaton Co. plc (NYSE:ETN) saw unusually-high trading volume on Tuesday . Approximately 5,223,781 shares were traded during trading, an increase of 66% from the previous session’s volume of 3,139,636 shares.The stock last traded at $302.76 and had previously closed at $311.55.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms recently issued reports on ETN. Melius downgraded shares of Eaton from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $373.00 price target for the company. in a research note on Tuesday. Citigroup dropped their target price on shares of Eaton from $440.00 to $410.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, January 13th. Barclays lifted their target price on 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 reduced their price target on shares of Eaton from $365.00 to $350.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, January 7th. Finally, Mizuho upped 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. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Eaton currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $369.30.

Eaton Price Performance

The firm has a market cap of $123.41 billion, a PE ratio of 33.22, a PEG ratio of 2.57 and a beta of 1.06. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $353.01 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $331.34. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.45, a quick ratio of 1.00 and a current ratio of 1.53.

Eaton (NYSE:ETN) last posted 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. The company 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 firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $2.47 EPS. Equities analysts predict that Eaton Co. plc will post 10.79 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Eaton news, insider Ernest W. Marshall, Jr. sold 1,412 shares of Eaton stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $378.58, for a total transaction of $534,554.96. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 31,200 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $11,811,696. The trade was a 4.33 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director Gregory R. Page sold 4,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, November 1st. The shares were 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 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. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 76,981 shares of company stock worth $27,660,117. 0.53% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Eaton

A number of large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC increased its holdings in shares of Eaton by 253.2% in 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 purchasing an additional 1,629,856 shares during the last quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Eaton by 27,075.5% in the 3rd quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 1,073,976 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $355,959,000 after acquiring an additional 1,070,024 shares during the last quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC raised its holdings in shares of 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 worth $801,798,000 after acquiring an additional 597,700 shares during the period. Vaughan Nelson Investment Management L.P. acquired a new position in shares of Eaton during the 3rd quarter valued at about $137,794,000. Finally, Assenagon Asset Management S.A. grew its holdings in shares of Eaton by 3,508.4% in the fourth quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 401,728 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $133,321,000 after purchasing an additional 390,595 shares during the period. 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.