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

Key Points

• Eaton Corporation, PLC has received a consensus recommendation of "Moderate Buy" from twenty research firms, with an average twelve-month target price of $377.89.
• Insiders have recently sold a total of 156,660 shares of Eaton's stock, with significant sales from key executives, indicating a notable decrease in their holdings.
• The company reported $2.72 earnings per share for the last quarter, surpassing analyst expectations and reflecting a 7.3% year-over-year revenue growth.

Shares of Eaton Corporation, PLC (NYSE:ETN - Get Free Report) have been assigned an average rating of "Moderate Buy" from the twenty analysts that are currently covering the firm, MarketBeat.com reports. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and fourteen have assigned a buy recommendation to the company. The average twelve-month target price among analysts that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $377.89.

A number of brokerages have recently weighed in on ETN. BNP Paribas Exane assumed coverage on Eaton in a research note on Thursday, May 15th. They issued an "outperform" rating and a $380.00 target price for the company. Sanford C. Bernstein restated an "outperform" rating and set a $396.00 target price on shares of Eaton in a report on Monday, July 14th. Wall Street Zen cut Eaton from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Saturday. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their target price on Eaton from $345.00 to $382.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, July 8th. Finally, BNP Paribas initiated coverage on Eaton in a report on Thursday, May 15th. They set an "outperform" rating and a $380.00 price objective on the stock.

Eaton Price Performance

Eaton stock traded down $3.20 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $381.52. 2,416,764 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,049,141. The company has a quick ratio of 0.84, a current ratio of 1.31 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.41. The business has a fifty day moving average of $350.92 and a 200 day moving average of $317.79. Eaton has a 1-year low of $231.85 and a 1-year high of $399.56. The company has a market capitalization of $149.29 billion, a PE ratio of 38.50, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.90 and a beta of 1.18.

Eaton (NYSE:ETN - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Friday, May 2nd. The industrial products company reported $2.72 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $2.70 by $0.02. Eaton had a return on equity of 23.41% and a net margin of 15.55%. The company had revenue of $6.38 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.26 billion. During the same period last year, the company posted $2.40 earnings per share. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 7.3% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Eaton will post 12.02 earnings per share for the current year.

Eaton Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 22nd. Investors of record on Thursday, August 7th will be issued a dividend of $1.04 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, August 7th. This represents a $4.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.1%. Eaton's payout ratio is presently 41.98%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, insider Craig Arnold sold 103,486 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Monday, May 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $322.75, for a total value of $33,400,106.50. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 490,208 shares in the company, valued at $158,214,632. The trade was a 17.43% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, insider Michael Yelton sold 2,120 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $296.87, for a total value of $629,364.40. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 3,382 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,004,014.34. This trade represents a 38.53% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 156,660 shares of company stock worth $49,622,894 over the last three months. 0.30% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of Eaton

Institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. IMA Advisory Services Inc. bought a new stake in Eaton in the 1st quarter valued at $25,000. Capital A Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in Eaton in the 4th quarter valued at $26,000. Creative Financial Designs Inc. ADV boosted its stake in Eaton by 102.0% in the 1st quarter. Creative Financial Designs Inc. ADV now owns 101 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $27,000 after purchasing an additional 51 shares during the period. Vermillion Wealth Management Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Eaton during the 4th quarter valued at $33,000. Finally, Abound Wealth Management lifted its position in shares of Eaton by 73.8% during the 1st quarter. Abound Wealth Management now owns 146 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $40,000 after acquiring an additional 62 shares during the period. 82.97% of the stock is currently owned by 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.