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

Melius Research reaffirmed their hold rating on shares of Eaton (NYSE:ETN) in a research note issued to investors on Tuesday,Benzinga reports. They currently have a $373.00 price objective on the industrial products company’s stock.

ETN has been the subject of several other research reports. 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. Jefferies Financial Group raised their target price on shares of Eaton from $400.00 to $440.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, December 6th. UBS Group initiated coverage on shares of Eaton in a research note on Wednesday, November 13th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $431.00 price target on the stock. Citigroup reduced their price objective on Eaton from $440.00 to $410.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Monday, January 13th. Finally, Barclays increased their target price on Eaton from $320.00 to $353.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 5th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $369.30.

Eaton Stock Performance

Shares of ETN opened at $312.26 on Tuesday. The company 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. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $353.01 and a 200-day moving average of $331.34. Eaton has a one year low of $244.35 and a one year high of $379.99. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.45, a current ratio of 1.53 and a quick ratio of 1.00.

Eaton (NYSE:ETN) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The industrial products company reported $2.84 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.80 by $0.04. The business had revenue of $6.35 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.37 billion. Eaton had a return on equity of 21.97% and a net margin of 15.32%. Eaton’s quarterly revenue was up 7.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $2.47 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Eaton will post 10.79 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Transactions at Eaton

In other news, Director Gregory R. Page sold 10,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, December 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $355.98, for a total value of $3,559,800.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 43,203 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $15,379,403.94. This represents a 18.80 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, insider Craig Arnold sold 61,569 shares of Eaton stock in a transaction that occurred 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 sale, the insider now directly owns 506,360 shares in the company, valued at $182,780,769.20. This trade represents a 10.84 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 76,981 shares of company stock valued at $27,660,117. Company insiders own 0.53% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Eaton

A number of hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Groupama Asset Managment lifted its stake in shares of Eaton by 83.2% in the 3rd quarter. Groupama Asset Managment now owns 9,463 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $31,000 after acquiring an additional 4,298 shares during the last quarter. Horizon Bancorp Inc. IN raised its position in Eaton by 321.7% in the fourth quarter. Horizon Bancorp Inc. IN now owns 97 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $32,000 after purchasing an additional 74 shares during the last quarter. Morse Asset Management Inc bought a new position in Eaton in the third quarter valued at about $33,000. Activest Wealth Management boosted its stake in shares of Eaton by 621.4% during the fourth quarter. Activest Wealth Management now owns 101 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $34,000 after purchasing an additional 87 shares in the last quarter. Finally, West Financial Advisors LLC bought a new position in Eaton in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $35,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.