Eaton (NYSE:ETN) Trading Up 0.2% – Here’s Why

Eaton Co. plc (NYSE:ETN) shares shot up 0.2% during mid-day trading on Wednesday . The company traded as high as $365.00 and last traded at $359.38. 879,811 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 58% from the average session volume of 2,082,573 shares. The stock had previously closed at $358.49.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have commented on ETN shares. Mizuho raised their price objective on Eaton from $365.00 to $385.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, November 1st. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $374.00 target price on shares of Eaton in a research report on Friday, November 1st. Raymond James reduced their price objective on shares of Eaton from $375.00 to $365.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, September 9th. Barclays lifted their price objective on Eaton from $320.00 to $353.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 5th. Finally, Morgan Stanley assumed coverage on Eaton in a research report on Friday, September 6th. They set an “overweight” rating and a $370.00 target price on the stock. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Eaton currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $367.83.

Eaton Stock Down 0.7 %

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 company has a fifty day moving average price of $355.33 and a 200-day moving average price of $326.59. The stock has a market capitalization of $140.70 billion, a P/E ratio of 38.06, a PEG ratio of 2.74 and a beta of 1.03.

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

Eaton Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 22nd. Shareholders of record on Monday, November 4th were issued a $0.94 dividend. This represents a $3.76 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.06%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, November 4th. Eaton’s dividend payout ratio is currently 40.00%.

Insider Activity

In related news, insider Ernest W. Marshall, Jr. sold 1,412 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $378.58, for a total transaction of $534,554.96. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 31,200 shares in the company, valued at approximately $11,811,696. The trade was a 4.33 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, insider Craig Arnold sold 61,569 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, November 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $360.97, for a total value of $22,224,561.93. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 506,360 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $182,780,769.20. The trade was a 10.84 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 66,981 shares of company stock worth $24,100,317 over the last 90 days. 0.53% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Eaton

Several hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in ETN. ORG Partners LLC purchased a new position in shares of Eaton in the 2nd quarter worth about $178,000. Miracle Mile Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of Eaton by 12.2% in the 2nd quarter. Miracle Mile Advisors LLC now owns 4,861 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $1,524,000 after acquiring an additional 528 shares during the last quarter. Brookstone Capital Management raised its holdings in shares of Eaton by 88.6% during the second quarter. Brookstone Capital Management now owns 2,593 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $808,000 after acquiring an additional 1,218 shares during the period. Saxon Interests Inc. boosted its position in Eaton by 1.9% during the 2nd quarter. Saxon Interests Inc. now owns 5,416 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $1,698,000 after acquiring an additional 101 shares during the period. Finally, World Equity Group Inc. increased its stake in shares of Eaton by 15.6% in the second quarter. World Equity Group Inc. now owns 2,934 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $920,000 after acquiring an additional 395 shares during the last quarter. 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.