Eaton’s (ETN) “Hold” Rating Reaffirmed at Melius Research

Melius Research reiterated their hold rating on shares of Eaton (NYSE:ETN) in a report released on Tuesday morning,Benzinga reports. They currently have a $373.00 target price on the industrial products company’s stock.

Several other research analysts also recently issued reports on ETN. Barclays upped their price objective on Eaton from $320.00 to $353.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, December 5th. 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. Sanford C. Bernstein initiated coverage on Eaton in a report on Tuesday, November 5th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $382.00 price objective for the company. Jefferies Financial Group raised their target price on shares of Eaton from $400.00 to $440.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, December 6th. Finally, Melius lowered shares of Eaton from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $373.00 price objective on the stock. in a report on Tuesday. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Eaton currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $369.30.

Eaton Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:ETN opened at $312.26 on Tuesday. The business has a fifty day moving average of $353.01 and a 200-day 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 has a twelve month low of $244.35 and a twelve month high of $379.99. The firm has a market cap of $123.41 billion, a PE ratio of 33.22, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.57 and a beta of 1.06.

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, beating the consensus estimate of $2.80 by $0.04. Eaton had a net margin of 15.32% and a return on equity of 21.97%. The firm had revenue of $6.35 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.37 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $2.47 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 7.9% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts predict that Eaton will post 10.79 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at Eaton

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 value of $534,554.96. Following the sale, the insider now owns 31,200 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $11,811,696. This trade represents a 4.33 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director Gregory R. Page sold 4,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $335.30, for a total value of $1,341,200.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 51,422 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $17,241,796.60. This represents a 7.22 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 76,981 shares of company stock valued at $27,660,117 over the last 90 days. 0.53% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Eaton

Several institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Susquehanna Fundamental Investments LLC bought a new stake in shares of Eaton in the second quarter worth $2,383,000. Ascent Group LLC increased its stake in Eaton by 7.2% in the 2nd quarter. Ascent Group LLC now owns 792 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $248,000 after buying an additional 53 shares during the last quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. lifted its position in Eaton by 5.8% during the 2nd quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 61,374 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $19,244,000 after buying an additional 3,361 shares in the last quarter. Sunbelt Securities Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Eaton by 6.0% during the 2nd quarter. Sunbelt Securities Inc. now owns 2,347 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $736,000 after buying an additional 132 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Quarry LP bought a new position in shares of Eaton in the 2nd quarter valued at about $84,000. 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.