Eaton (NYSE:ETN) Rating Lowered to "Hold" at Wall Street Zen

Key Points

• Eaton (NYSE:ETN) has been downgraded from a "buy" to a "hold" rating by Wall Street Zen, indicating a shift in analyst sentiment regarding the company's stock.
• Despite the downgrade, several investment analysts have increased their price targets for Eaton, with ranges now between $349.00 and $420.00, reflecting a generally optimistic outlook on its performance.
• Insider activity indicates significant selling, with key insiders offloading substantial shares, which may signal caution among executives regarding the company's future prospects.

Eaton (NYSE:ETN - Get Free Report) was downgraded by investment analysts at Wall Street Zen from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note issued on Saturday.

A number of other equities research analysts also recently weighed in on the stock. Evercore ISI lifted their price target on shares of Eaton from $326.00 to $349.00 and gave the company an "in-line" rating in a research report on Monday, May 19th. KeyCorp upped their target price on Eaton from $355.00 to $410.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 15th. Royal Bank Of Canada increased their target price on Eaton from $336.00 to $356.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Monday, May 5th. Citigroup boosted their price target on Eaton from $351.00 to $420.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday, July 14th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on shares of Eaton from $310.00 to $360.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 1st. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fourteen have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $377.89.

Eaton Stock Performance

ETN opened at $381.52 on Friday. 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 business has a fifty day simple moving average of $350.92 and a 200 day simple 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 released its quarterly earnings results on Friday, May 2nd. The industrial products company reported $2.72 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.70 by $0.02. The business had revenue of $6.38 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.26 billion. Eaton had a net margin of 15.55% and a return on equity of 23.41%. Eaton's revenue was up 7.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $2.40 earnings per share. Research analysts expect that Eaton will post 12.02 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity at Eaton

In related news, insider Craig Arnold sold 103,486 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Monday, May 12th. The stock was 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 Securities & Exchange Commission, 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 stock was sold at an average price of $296.87, for a total value of $629,364.40. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 3,382 shares in the company, valued at $1,004,014.34. The trade was a 38.53% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 156,660 shares of company stock worth $49,622,894. 0.30% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Eaton

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Brighton Jones LLC raised its stake in Eaton by 1.4% during the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 3,341 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $1,109,000 after buying an additional 45 shares during the last quarter. Revolve Wealth Partners LLC raised its position in shares of Eaton by 17.5% in the 4th quarter. Revolve Wealth Partners LLC now owns 913 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $303,000 after acquiring an additional 136 shares in the last quarter. Bank Pictet & Cie Europe AG acquired a new position in shares of Eaton in the 4th quarter valued at about $42,839,000. ExodusPoint Capital Management LP boosted its position in shares of Eaton by 65.3% during the 4th quarter. ExodusPoint Capital Management LP now owns 31,165 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $10,343,000 after purchasing an additional 12,309 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Thoroughbred Financial Services LLC acquired a new stake in Eaton during the fourth quarter worth approximately $1,809,000. 82.97% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.

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