Eaton (NYSE:ETN) Shares Down 1.4% – What’s Next?

Eaton Co. plc (NYSE:ETN)’s stock price dropped 1.4% during trading on Thursday . The company traded as low as $371.01 and last traded at $371.98. Approximately 1,117,291 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 47% from the average daily volume of 2,107,785 shares. The stock had previously closed at $377.29.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages recently weighed in on ETN. Royal Bank of Canada restated an “outperform” rating and set a $374.00 target price on shares of Eaton in a research report on Friday, November 1st. Wolfe Research raised Eaton from an “underperform” rating to a “peer perform” rating in a research report on Friday, September 6th. Bank of America lifted their price objective on shares of Eaton from $350.00 to $410.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 13th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on Eaton from $315.00 to $342.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday, October 7th. Finally, Evercore ISI downgraded Eaton from an “outperform” rating to an “inline” rating and boosted their target price for the stock from $333.00 to $389.00 in a research note on Wednesday, November 13th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Eaton has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $357.83.

Eaton Price Performance

The firm has a market capitalization of $147.01 billion, a PE ratio of 39.57, a PEG ratio of 2.99 and a beta of 1.01. The company has a quick ratio of 1.00, a current ratio of 1.53 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.45. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $346.61 and a 200 day moving average price of $323.89.

Eaton (NYSE:ETN) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 31st. The industrial products company reported $2.84 earnings per share (EPS) 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 business had revenue of $6.35 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.37 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $2.47 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was up 7.9% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts forecast that Eaton Co. plc will post 10.8 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Eaton Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 22nd. Stockholders of record on Monday, November 4th were given a $0.94 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, November 4th. This represents a $3.76 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.01%. Eaton’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 40.00%.

Insider Activity at Eaton

In other Eaton news, insider Craig Arnold sold 61,569 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, November 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $360.97, for a total transaction of $22,224,561.93. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 506,360 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $182,780,769.20. This trade represents a 10.84 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Dorothy C. Thompson acquired 2,205 shares of Eaton stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, September 3rd. The stock was purchased at an average price of $300.30 per share, with a total value of $662,161.50. Following the transaction, the director now owns 2,205 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $662,161.50. This trade represents a ∞ increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 66,981 shares of company stock valued at $24,100,317. 0.33% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Eaton

Several hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Franklin Resources Inc. increased its position in shares of Eaton by 15.1% in the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 2,421,626 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $836,938,000 after buying an additional 316,830 shares in the last quarter. Peapack Gladstone Financial Corp grew its stake in Eaton by 0.5% in the 3rd quarter. Peapack Gladstone Financial Corp now owns 15,621 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $5,177,000 after acquiring an additional 71 shares during the last quarter. Synovus Financial Corp increased its holdings in Eaton by 3.2% during the 3rd quarter. Synovus Financial Corp now owns 42,032 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $13,931,000 after acquiring an additional 1,309 shares in the last quarter. Castellan Group raised its position in Eaton by 6.2% during the third quarter. Castellan Group now owns 8,898 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $2,949,000 after acquiring an additional 522 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Tidal Investments LLC grew its position in shares of Eaton by 68.4% in the third quarter. Tidal Investments LLC now owns 29,722 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $9,851,000 after purchasing an additional 12,069 shares during the last quarter. 82.97% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.