Eaton Corporation, PLC (NYSE:ETN) Given Average Rating of "Moderate Buy" by Brokerages

Key Points

• Analyst consensus: Nineteen brokers rate Eaton an average of "Moderate Buy" (12 buys, 5 holds, 2 strong buys) with a 12‑month average target of $392.94.
• Insider sale: Insider Sternadt Paulo Ruiz sold 10,707 shares at an average of $390.26 (a 27.9% reduction in their holding); insiders own 0.30% of the stock.
• Dividend and valuation: Eaton raised its quarterly dividend to $1.10 ($4.40 annual, ~1.2% yield) and the company trades at a PE of 34 with a market cap near $138 billion.

Shares of Eaton Corporation, PLC (NYSE:ETN - Get Free Report) have been assigned an average rating of "Moderate Buy" from the nineteen ratings firms that are presently covering the company, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twelve have issued a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. The average 12-month target price among brokers that have covered the stock in the last year is $392.9444.

ETN has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Citigroup dropped their price objective on Eaton from $442.00 to $435.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Monday, January 12th. Barclays decreased their target price on Eaton from $362.00 to $350.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, January 7th. Wolfe Research raised Eaton from a "peer perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and set a $413.00 price target for the company in a research note on Tuesday, December 9th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price objective on shares of Eaton from $440.00 to $406.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, January 16th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on shares of Eaton from $340.00 to $370.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Wednesday, February 4th.

Insider Activity

In related news, insider Sternadt Paulo Ruiz sold 10,707 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $390.26, for a total value of $4,178,513.82. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 27,729 shares in the company, valued at $10,821,519.54. This represents a 27.86% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. 0.30% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Brighton Jones LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Eaton by 1.4% during the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 3,341 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $1,109,000 after purchasing an additional 45 shares in the last quarter. Revolve Wealth Partners LLC raised its holdings in Eaton by 17.5% during the 4th quarter. Revolve Wealth Partners LLC now owns 913 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $303,000 after buying an additional 136 shares during the period. Empowered Funds LLC raised its holdings in Eaton by 5.6% during the 1st quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 9,402 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $2,556,000 after buying an additional 496 shares during the period. SG Americas Securities LLC lifted its stake in Eaton by 12.5% in the second quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 183,204 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $65,402,000 after buying an additional 20,409 shares in the last quarter. Finally, MTM Investment Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Eaton by 4.3% in the second quarter. MTM Investment Management LLC now owns 4,773 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $1,704,000 after buying an additional 198 shares during the period. 82.97% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Eaton Price Performance

ETN opened at $355.68 on Friday. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $355.74 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $355.29. The firm has a market capitalization of $137.97 billion, a PE ratio of 34.00, a P/E/G ratio of 2.40 and a beta of 1.17. Eaton has a 52 week low of $231.85 and a 52 week high of $408.45. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.45, a quick ratio of 0.81 and a current ratio of 1.32.

Eaton (NYSE:ETN - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 26th. The industrial products company reported $3.23 earnings per share for the quarter. Eaton had a return on equity of 25.00% and a net margin of 14.89%. As a group, analysts anticipate that Eaton will post 12.02 earnings per share for the current year.

Eaton Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 27th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, March 10th will be given a dividend of $1.10 per share. This is a positive change from Eaton's previous quarterly dividend of $1.04. This represents a $4.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.2%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, March 10th. Eaton's payout ratio is 42.07%.

About Eaton

Eaton NYSE: ETN is a diversified power management company that designs, manufactures and distributes products and systems to manage electrical, hydraulic and mechanical power. The company's offerings are used to improve energy efficiency, reliability and safety across a wide range of applications, with core capabilities in electrical distribution and control, industrial hydraulics and aerospace systems.

Its product portfolio includes switchgear, circuit breakers, transformers, power distribution units, uninterruptible power supplies and surge protection devices for electrical infrastructure, along with hydraulic pumps, valves and filtration systems for industrial and mobile equipment.

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