Eaton (NYSE:ETN) Cut to Hold at StockNews.com

StockNews.com cut shares of Eaton (NYSE:ETN) from a buy rating to a hold rating in a report published on Saturday.

Several other research analysts have also issued reports on the company. Jefferies Financial Group lowered their target price on Eaton from $390.00 to $335.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, March 12th. KeyCorp raised their target price on Eaton from $325.00 to $355.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, May 5th. Melius Research reaffirmed a “hold” rating and set a $373.00 target price on shares of Eaton in a research report on Tuesday, January 28th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on Eaton from $289.00 to $300.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 6th. Finally, Barclays lowered their price objective on Eaton from $315.00 to $306.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, April 4th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $361.13.

Eaton Trading Up 4.0%

Shares of ETN stock opened at $322.30 on Friday. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $283.50 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $319.80. The company has a market cap of $126.12 billion, a PE ratio of 33.93, a P/E/G ratio of 2.64 and a beta of 1.14. Eaton has a fifty-two week low of $231.85 and a fifty-two week high of $379.99. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.46, a quick ratio of 0.96 and a current ratio of 1.50.

Eaton (NYSE:ETN) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Friday, May 2nd. The industrial products company reported $2.72 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.70 by $0.02. Eaton had a return on equity of 22.62% and a net margin of 15.25%. The company had revenue of $6.38 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.26 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $2.40 EPS. Eaton’s revenue was up 7.3% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts predict that Eaton will post 12.02 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Eaton Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 23rd. Shareholders of record on Monday, May 5th will be paid a dividend of $1.04 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, May 5th. This represents a $4.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.29%. Eaton’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 41.98%.

Insider Transactions at Eaton

In other news, insider Michael Yelton sold 2,120 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $296.87, for a total value of $629,364.40. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 3,382 shares in the company, valued at $1,004,014.34. The trade was a 38.53% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, insider Craig Arnold sold 51,054 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $305.43, for a total value of $15,593,423.22. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 489,444 shares in the company, valued at $149,490,880.92. The trade was a 9.45% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 0.30% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Eaton

Institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its holdings in Eaton by 0.8% during the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 37,507,725 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $10,195,725,000 after acquiring an additional 289,819 shares during the period. FMR LLC raised its holdings in Eaton by 1.2% during the 4th quarter. FMR LLC now owns 15,222,248 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $5,051,807,000 after acquiring an additional 182,455 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in Eaton by 1.6% during the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 8,198,412 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $2,714,677,000 after acquiring an additional 129,071 shares during the period. Nuveen LLC bought a new stake in Eaton during the 1st quarter valued at $1,472,231,000. Finally, Nuveen Asset Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Eaton by 4.3% in the fourth quarter. Nuveen Asset Management LLC now owns 4,671,185 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $1,550,226,000 after purchasing an additional 192,482 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 82.97% of the company’s stock.

Eaton Company Profile

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.