Eaton Co. plc (NYSE:ETN) Receives Average Rating of “Moderate Buy” from Analysts

Shares of Eaton Co. plc (NYSE:ETN) have been assigned a consensus recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the nineteen brokerages that are currently covering the firm, Marketbeat reports. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have issued a buy rating on the company. The average twelve-month price target among brokers that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $350.22.

A number of analysts have commented on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price target on shares of Eaton from $350.00 to $289.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, April 8th. Jefferies Financial Group cut their target price on Eaton from $390.00 to $335.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, March 12th. Barclays lowered their price target on Eaton from $315.00 to $306.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, April 4th. Royal Bank of Canada decreased their target price on Eaton from $405.00 to $376.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, March 6th. Finally, KeyCorp dropped their price target on shares of Eaton from $340.00 to $325.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, April 8th.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Eaton

A number of large investors have recently made changes to their positions in ETN. Palumbo Wealth Management LLC grew its position in Eaton by 10.0% during the first quarter. Palumbo Wealth Management LLC now owns 3,163 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $860,000 after purchasing an additional 287 shares in the last quarter. Crumly & Associates Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Eaton by 10.5% during the 1st quarter. Crumly & Associates Inc. now owns 1,352 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $368,000 after buying an additional 128 shares during the period. Westhampton Capital LLC increased its stake in shares of Eaton by 0.4% in the first quarter. Westhampton Capital LLC now owns 25,227 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $6,857,000 after acquiring an additional 110 shares during the last quarter. Tandem Capital Management Corp ADV raised its holdings in shares of Eaton by 2.3% during the first quarter. Tandem Capital Management Corp ADV now owns 13,772 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $3,744,000 after acquiring an additional 308 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Altrius Capital Management Inc raised its holdings in shares of Eaton by 34.4% during the first quarter. Altrius Capital Management Inc now owns 29,410 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $7,995,000 after acquiring an additional 7,535 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 82.97% of the company’s stock.

Eaton Stock Up 3.0 %

Eaton stock opened at $267.14 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.46, a quick ratio of 0.96 and a current ratio of 1.50. Eaton has a one year low of $231.85 and a one year high of $379.99. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $283.13 and a 200-day simple moving average of $324.29. The firm has a market capitalization of $104.66 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.12, a P/E/G ratio of 2.64 and a beta of 1.09.

Eaton (NYSE:ETN) last released its quarterly earnings results on Friday, January 31st. The industrial products company reported $2.83 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.82 by $0.01. Eaton had a return on equity of 22.62% and a net margin of 15.25%. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $2.55 EPS. As a group, equities analysts expect that Eaton will post 12.02 earnings per share for the current year.

Eaton Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 23rd. Shareholders of record on Monday, May 5th will be given a dividend of $1.04 per share. This represents a $4.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.56%. Eaton’s payout ratio is presently 43.79%.

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.