BNP Paribas Exane Initiates Coverage on Eaton (NYSE:ETN)

Research analysts at BNP Paribas Exane started coverage on shares of Eaton (NYSE:ETN) in a report released on Thursday, MarketBeat Ratings reports. The firm set an “outperform” rating and a $380.00 price target on the industrial products company’s stock. BNP Paribas Exane’s price objective indicates a potential upside of 15.36% from the company’s previous close.

Other equities research analysts have also recently issued research reports about the stock. Citigroup increased their target price on shares of Eaton from $323.00 to $351.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, May 5th. Morgan Stanley lowered their price target on shares of Eaton from $385.00 to $375.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, May 6th. Melius Research reiterated a “hold” rating and set a $373.00 target price on shares of Eaton in a research report on Tuesday, January 28th. Barclays decreased their price objective on Eaton from $315.00 to $306.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, April 4th. Finally, 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. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fourteen have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $366.56.

Eaton Stock Up 0.8%

Shares of ETN stock opened at $329.40 on Thursday. The company has a market capitalization of $128.89 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 34.67, a PEG ratio of 2.64 and a beta of 1.14. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.46, a quick ratio of 0.96 and a current ratio of 1.50. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $287.40 and its 200 day simple moving average is $319.71. Eaton has a twelve month low of $231.85 and a twelve month high of $379.99.

Eaton (NYSE:ETN) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Friday, May 2nd. The industrial products company reported $2.72 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.70 by $0.02. The business had revenue of $6.38 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.26 billion. Eaton had a net margin of 15.25% and a return on equity of 22.62%. Eaton’s quarterly revenue was up 7.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $2.40 EPS. As a group, research analysts predict that Eaton will post 12.02 EPS for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, insider Michael Yelton sold 2,120 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $296.87, for a total value of $629,364.40. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 3,382 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,004,014.34. This trade represents a 38.53% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, insider Craig Arnold sold 51,054 shares of Eaton stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $305.43, for a total value of $15,593,423.22. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 489,444 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $149,490,880.92. This represents a 9.45% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 156,660 shares of company stock valued at $49,622,894 in the last three months. 0.30% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Eaton

Hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Woodline Partners LP increased its holdings in shares of Eaton by 822.9% in the first quarter. Woodline Partners LP now owns 145,303 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $39,498,000 after purchasing an additional 129,559 shares during the last quarter. Zimmer Partners LP boosted its holdings in shares of Eaton by 128.6% during the 1st quarter. Zimmer Partners LP now owns 172,400 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $46,863,000 after buying an additional 97,000 shares during the period. Empowered Funds LLC grew its stake in Eaton by 5.6% in the 1st quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 9,402 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $2,556,000 after buying an additional 496 shares during the last quarter. Logan Capital Management Inc. raised its holdings in Eaton by 27.1% in the 1st quarter. Logan Capital Management Inc. now owns 31,196 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $8,480,000 after acquiring an additional 6,660 shares during the period. Finally, MBB Public Markets I LLC acquired a new stake in Eaton during the first quarter worth approximately $968,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 82.97% 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.