Citigroup Forecasts Strong Price Appreciation for Eaton (NYSE:ETN) Stock

Eaton (NYSE:ETN - Free Report) had its price objective hoisted by Citigroup from $351.00 to $420.00 in a research note released on Monday,Benzinga reports. Citigroup currently has a buy rating on the industrial products company's stock.

A number of other research analysts have also issued reports on ETN. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on shares of Eaton from $310.00 to $360.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 1st. Royal Bank Of Canada raised their price target on shares of Eaton from $336.00 to $356.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Monday, May 5th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on shares of Eaton from $300.00 to $360.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Friday, May 16th. BNP Paribas Exane initiated coverage on shares of Eaton in a research report on Thursday, May 15th. They issued an "outperform" rating and a $380.00 price target on the stock. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group raised their price target on shares of Eaton from $345.00 to $382.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 8th. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fifteen have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $377.89.

Eaton Stock Performance

NYSE:ETN traded up $0.93 during midday trading on Monday, reaching $363.04. The stock had a trading volume of 1,756,196 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,670,992. Eaton has a 1-year low of $231.85 and a 1-year high of $379.99. The firm's fifty day simple moving average is $336.45 and its 200-day simple moving average is $314.15. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.41, a current ratio of 1.31 and a quick ratio of 0.84. The stock has a market capitalization of $142.06 billion, a P/E ratio of 36.63, a PEG ratio of 2.73 and a beta of 1.17.

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

Eaton Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 23rd. Investors of record on Monday, May 5th were issued a dividend of $1.04 per share. This represents a $4.16 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.15%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, May 5th. Eaton's dividend payout ratio is currently 41.98%.

Insider Activity

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

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Eaton

Several institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in ETN. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its stake in shares of Eaton by 0.8% in the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 37,507,725 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $10,195,725,000 after acquiring an additional 289,819 shares during the last quarter. FMR LLC raised its stake in shares of Eaton by 1.2% in the fourth quarter. FMR LLC now owns 15,222,248 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $5,051,807,000 after acquiring an additional 182,455 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Eaton by 1.6% in the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 8,198,412 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $2,714,677,000 after acquiring an additional 129,071 shares during the last quarter. Nuveen LLC bought a new position in shares of Eaton in the first quarter worth about $1,472,231,000. Finally, Nuveen Asset Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Eaton by 4.3% in the fourth quarter. Nuveen Asset Management LLC now owns 4,671,185 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $1,550,226,000 after acquiring an additional 192,482 shares during the last quarter. 82.97% of the stock is 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.