Eaton (NYSE:ETN) Sets New 1-Year High - Here's What Happened

Key Points

• Eaton shares hit a new 52‑week high of $433.03 (last at $433.22) on Thursday, with roughly 1.83 million shares changing hands.
• Analysts are largely positive: MarketBeat shows an average rating of Moderate Buy with a $396.50 average target, while recent moves include Citigroup raising its target to $464 and HSBC upgrading to Buy.
• Recent fundamentals: Eaton reported $3.23 EPS and $7.06 billion in quarterly revenue, has a $168.36 billion market cap and a 41.48 PE, and pays a $1.10 quarterly dividend (annual $4.40, ~1.0% yield).

Eaton Corporation, PLC (NYSE:ETN - Get Free Report) shares reached a new 52-week high on Thursday . The company traded as high as $433.03 and last traded at $433.2160, with a volume of 1825248 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $410.77.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have issued reports on the company. HSBC upgraded Eaton from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $400.00 price target for the company in a research note on Friday, January 16th. Citigroup raised their target price on Eaton from $435.00 to $464.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Monday, April 13th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a "buy (b-)" rating on shares of Eaton in a research report on Wednesday, January 21st. Jefferies Financial Group started coverage on Eaton in a research report on Monday, March 16th. They set a "buy" rating and a $430.00 target price on the stock. Finally, Barclays cut their target price on Eaton from $354.00 to $340.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, April 1st. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fourteen have given a Buy rating and five have issued a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Eaton presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $396.50.

Eaton Stock Performance

The business's fifty day moving average price is $376.68 and its 200-day moving average price is $359.74. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.45, a current ratio of 1.32 and a quick ratio of 0.81. The stock has a market capitalization of $168.36 billion, a PE ratio of 41.48, a P/E/G ratio of 2.87 and a beta of 1.17.

Eaton (NYSE:ETN - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, February 26th. The industrial products company reported $3.23 EPS for the quarter. Eaton had a return on equity of 25.00% and a net margin of 14.89%.The business had revenue of $7.06 billion during the quarter. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Eaton Corporation, PLC will post 13.3 EPS for the current year.

Eaton Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 29th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 8th will be issued a $1.10 dividend. This represents a $4.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.0%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 8th. Eaton's dividend payout ratio is presently 42.07%.

Insider Activity

In other news, insider Sternadt Paulo Ruiz sold 10,707 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $390.26, for a total value of $4,178,513.82. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 27,729 shares in the company, valued at approximately $10,821,519.54. This represents a 27.86% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Insiders own 0.10% of the company's stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Eaton

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Fayez Sarofim & Co boosted its holdings in shares of Eaton by 3.4% in the 3rd quarter. Fayez Sarofim & Co now owns 1,256,177 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $474,444,000 after purchasing an additional 40,792 shares in the last quarter. Williams Jones Wealth Management LLC. boosted its holdings in Eaton by 3.3% during the 3rd quarter. Williams Jones Wealth Management LLC. now owns 515,587 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $192,958,000 after acquiring an additional 16,422 shares during the period. SG Americas Securities LLC boosted its holdings in Eaton by 438.9% during the 4th quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 364,877 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $116,217,000 after acquiring an additional 297,166 shares during the period. Silvercrest Asset Management Group LLC boosted its holdings in Eaton by 23.1% during the 4th quarter. Silvercrest Asset Management Group LLC now owns 310,859 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $99,012,000 after acquiring an additional 58,281 shares during the period. Finally, PFA Pension Forsikringsaktieselskab purchased a new stake in Eaton during the 4th quarter valued at about $97,989,000. 82.97% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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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