Eaton Co. plc (NYSE:ETN) Receives Consensus Rating of “Moderate Buy” from Brokerages

Shares of Eaton Co. plc (NYSE:ETN) have been given an average recommendation of “Moderate Buy” by the twenty brokerages that are presently covering the firm, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and thirteen have issued a buy recommendation on the company. The average 12-month price objective among brokers that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $364.65.

ETN has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated an “outperform” rating on shares of Eaton in a research note on Thursday, February 13th. Citigroup cut their target price on Eaton from $440.00 to $410.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, January 13th. Bank of America raised their price target on Eaton from $350.00 to $410.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 13th. Evercore ISI lowered their price target on Eaton from $382.00 to $326.00 and set an “in-line” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, February 19th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company reissued an “equal weight” rating on shares of Eaton in a report on Thursday, February 13th.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Gregory R. Page sold 10,000 shares of Eaton stock in a transaction dated Friday, December 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $355.98, for a total transaction of $3,559,800.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 43,203 shares in the company, valued at $15,379,403.94. The trade was a 18.80 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Corporate insiders own 0.53% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Eaton

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in ETN. Chicago Partners Investment Group LLC lifted its holdings in Eaton by 100.9% in the 3rd quarter. Chicago Partners Investment Group LLC now owns 3,078 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $1,062,000 after purchasing an additional 1,546 shares during the last quarter. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. lifted its holdings in Eaton by 9.9% in the 3rd quarter. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. now owns 251,983 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $83,517,000 after purchasing an additional 22,637 shares during the last quarter. Kanawha Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in Eaton in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $207,000. Vestor Capital LLC acquired a new stake in Eaton in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $4,118,000. Finally, Wetzel Investment Advisors Inc. lifted its holdings in Eaton by 1.5% in the 3rd quarter. Wetzel Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 3,073 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $1,019,000 after purchasing an additional 44 shares during the last quarter. 82.97% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Eaton Stock Performance

ETN stock opened at $277.71 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.46, a quick ratio of 0.96 and a current ratio of 1.50. The stock has a market capitalization of $109.75 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.23, a PEG ratio of 2.64 and a beta of 1.05. Eaton has a 1 year low of $255.65 and a 1 year high of $379.99. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $325.70 and its two-hundred day moving average is $332.62.

Eaton (NYSE:ETN) last posted its earnings results on Friday, January 31st. The industrial products company reported $2.83 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.82 by $0.01. Eaton had a return on equity of 22.62% and a net margin of 15.25%. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $2.55 EPS. On average, research analysts predict that Eaton will post 12.02 EPS for the current year.

Eaton Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 28th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 10th will be given a dividend of $1.04 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 10th. This is a positive change from Eaton’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.94. This represents a $4.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.50%. Eaton’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 43.79%.

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.