Eaton (NYSE:ETN) Upgraded by Wall Street Zen to “Buy” Rating

Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Eaton (NYSE:ETN) from a hold rating to a buy rating in a research report sent to investors on Saturday.

Other equities analysts have also recently issued research reports about the stock. Jefferies Financial Group decreased their target price on shares of Eaton from $390.00 to $335.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, March 12th. BNP Paribas Exane assumed coverage on shares of Eaton in a research report on Thursday, May 15th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $380.00 price objective on the stock. KeyCorp boosted their price objective on shares of Eaton from $325.00 to $355.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, May 5th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on shares of Eaton from $310.00 to $360.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 1st. Finally, Barclays boosted their price objective on shares of Eaton from $306.00 to $323.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday, June 9th. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fourteen have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $369.06.

Eaton Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:ETN opened at $361.98 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $141.64 billion, a PE ratio of 36.53, a PEG ratio of 2.73 and a beta of 1.17. The company’s fifty day moving average is $326.36 and its 200 day moving average is $312.79. Eaton has a 52 week low of $231.85 and a 52 week high of $379.99. The company has a quick ratio of 0.84, a current ratio of 1.31 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.41.

Eaton (NYSE:ETN) last issued its earnings results on Friday, May 2nd. The industrial products company reported $2.72 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.70 by $0.02. The company had revenue of $6.38 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.26 billion. Eaton had a net margin of 15.55% and a return on equity of 23.41%. The firm’s revenue was up 7.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $2.40 EPS. Research analysts anticipate that Eaton will post 12.02 earnings per share for the current year.

Eaton Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 23rd. Investors of record on Monday, May 5th were given a dividend of $1.04 per share. This represents a $4.16 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.15%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, May 5th. Eaton’s dividend payout ratio is currently 41.98%.

Insider Activity

In related news, insider Craig Arnold sold 103,486 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, May 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $322.75, for a total transaction of $33,400,106.50. Following the transaction, the insider owned 490,208 shares in the company, valued at $158,214,632. The trade was a 17.43% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, insider Michael Yelton sold 2,120 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $296.87, for a total transaction of $629,364.40. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 3,382 shares in the company, valued at $1,004,014.34. The trade was a 38.53% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 156,660 shares of company stock worth $49,622,894 in the last quarter. 0.30% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Eaton

Several hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of ETN. Brighton Jones LLC boosted its stake in Eaton by 1.4% during the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 3,341 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $1,109,000 after acquiring an additional 45 shares in the last quarter. Revolve Wealth Partners LLC boosted its stake in Eaton by 17.5% during the fourth quarter. Revolve Wealth Partners LLC now owns 913 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $303,000 after acquiring an additional 136 shares in the last quarter. Bank Pictet & Cie Europe AG bought a new stake in Eaton during the fourth quarter worth about $42,839,000. Proficio Capital Partners LLC lifted its stake in shares of Eaton by 27.6% in the fourth quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC now owns 2,207 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $732,000 after buying an additional 478 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Welch & Forbes LLC lifted its stake in shares of Eaton by 29.1% in the fourth quarter. Welch & Forbes LLC now owns 3,567 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $1,184,000 after buying an additional 803 shares in 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.