Eaton (NYSE:ETN) PT Raised to $280.00 at HSBC

Eaton (NYSE:ETN - Get Free Report) had its target price lifted by HSBC from $240.00 to $280.00 in a research note issued to investors on Friday, Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has a "hold" rating on the industrial products company's stock. HSBC's price target suggests a potential downside of 12.64% from the stock's previous close.

A number of other brokerages have also recently commented on ETN. Bank of America boosted their target price on shares of Eaton from $320.00 to $330.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Monday, March 18th. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their price objective on Eaton from $287.00 to $328.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, March 15th. Argus boosted their price objective on Eaton from $290.00 to $350.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday. Citigroup boosted their price objective on Eaton from $270.00 to $310.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, February 2nd. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on Eaton from $279.00 to $325.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Wednesday. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating and twelve have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $314.27.

Eaton Price Performance

ETN traded up $6.15 on Friday, reaching $320.50. The company had a trading volume of 1,764,701 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,036,619. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $307.97 and a 200 day simple moving average of $261.18. The company has a market cap of $128.14 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 37.84, a P/E/G ratio of 2.55 and a beta of 1.06. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.42, a quick ratio of 1.02 and a current ratio of 1.56. Eaton has a 52-week low of $165.24 and a 52-week high of $333.05.

Eaton (NYSE:ETN - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 30th. The industrial products company reported $2.40 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $2.28 by $0.12. The business had revenue of $5.94 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.91 billion. Eaton had a net margin of 14.38% and a return on equity of 20.69%. The company's quarterly revenue was up 8.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $1.88 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Eaton will post 10.42 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity

In other Eaton news, insider Ernest W. Marshall, Jr. sold 19,750 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $273.17, for a total transaction of $5,395,107.50. Following the sale, the insider now owns 29,712 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,116,427.04. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. In related news, insider Olivier Leonetti sold 4,461 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $272.00, for a total transaction of $1,213,392.00. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 630 shares in the company, valued at approximately $171,360. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, insider Ernest W. Marshall, Jr. sold 19,750 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $273.17, for a total value of $5,395,107.50. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 29,712 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,116,427.04. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 38,969 shares of company stock valued at $10,904,774 in the last quarter. Insiders own 0.53% of the company's stock.

Institutional Trading of Eaton

Hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. C2P Capital Advisory Group LLC d.b.a. Prosperity Capital Advisors increased its stake in Eaton by 24.5% in the 1st quarter. C2P Capital Advisory Group LLC d.b.a. Prosperity Capital Advisors now owns 1,791 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $560,000 after purchasing an additional 352 shares in the last quarter. Wellington Shields & Co. LLC increased its position in Eaton by 3.8% during the first quarter. Wellington Shields & Co. LLC now owns 1,375 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $430,000 after buying an additional 50 shares in the last quarter. United Community Bank increased its position in Eaton by 9.8% during the first quarter. United Community Bank now owns 13,726 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $4,194,000 after buying an additional 1,223 shares in the last quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC increased its position in Eaton by 10.3% during the first quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC now owns 2,031 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $635,000 after buying an additional 190 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Central Pacific Bank Trust Division purchased a new position in Eaton during the first quarter worth $3,612,000. 82.97% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.

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