Eaton (NYSE:ETN) Announces Quarterly Earnings Results

Eaton (NYSE:ETN - Get Free Report) announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday. The industrial products company reported $2.40 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $2.28 by $0.12, Briefing.com reports. The company had revenue of $5.94 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $5.91 billion. Eaton had a net margin of 13.88% and a return on equity of 20.05%. The business's quarterly revenue was up 8.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm posted $1.88 earnings per share.

Eaton Stock Performance

Shares of Eaton stock traded down $6.23 during trading on Wednesday, hitting $312.03. 3,416,668 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,028,208. The stock has a market capitalization of $124.66 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 38.91, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.71 and a beta of 1.07. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $307.35 and a 200-day moving average price of $260.80. Eaton has a 1-year low of $165.24 and a 1-year high of $333.05. The company has a current ratio of 1.51, a quick ratio of 1.02 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.43.

Eaton Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 24th. Stockholders of record on Monday, May 6th will be paid a dividend of $0.94 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 3rd. This represents a $3.76 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.21%. Eaton's dividend payout ratio is presently 46.88%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have recently weighed in on ETN. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on shares of Eaton from $279.00 to $325.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Wednesday. Citigroup boosted their price objective on shares of Eaton from $270.00 to $310.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, February 2nd. Berenberg Bank boosted their price objective on shares of Eaton from $200.00 to $345.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 6th. Evercore ISI boosted their price objective on shares of Eaton from $262.00 to $308.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 20th. Finally, Wolfe Research reaffirmed an "underperform" rating and issued a $312.00 price objective on shares of Eaton in a research report on Monday, April 8th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating and twelve have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Eaton presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $302.93.

Insider Transactions at Eaton

In other news, insider Olivier Leonetti sold 4,461 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $272.00, for a total transaction of $1,213,392.00. Following the transaction, the insider now directly 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 can be accessed through the SEC website. In related news, insider Peter Denk sold 1,731 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $288.97, for a total value of $500,207.07. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 5,514 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,593,380.58. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, insider Olivier Leonetti sold 4,461 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $272.00, for a total transaction of $1,213,392.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 630 shares in the company, valued at approximately $171,360. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 38,969 shares of company stock worth $10,904,774 in the last ninety days. Insiders own 0.53% of the company's stock.

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.