Eaton (NYSE:ETN) Upgraded by StockNews.com to “Buy” Rating

Eaton (NYSE:ETN) was upgraded by stock analysts at StockNews.com from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note issued to investors on Sunday.

A number of other equities research analysts have also issued reports on the stock. Melius lowered shares of Eaton from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $373.00 price target on the stock. in a report on Tuesday, January 28th. Wells Fargo & Company restated an “overweight” rating and set a $355.00 price target on shares of Eaton in a report on Monday, May 5th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on shares of Eaton from $300.00 to $360.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their price target on shares of Eaton from $336.00 to $356.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, May 5th. Finally, Melius Research restated a “hold” rating and set a $373.00 price target on shares of Eaton in a report on Tuesday, January 28th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fifteen have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Eaton currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $366.56.

Eaton Stock Up 0.8%

NYSE ETN opened at $329.40 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.46, a current ratio of 1.50 and a quick ratio of 0.96. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $287.40 and its 200 day simple moving average is $319.55. Eaton has a 12 month low of $231.85 and a 12 month high of $379.99. The company has a market capitalization of $128.89 billion, a P/E ratio of 34.67, a PEG ratio of 2.64 and a beta of 1.14.

Eaton (NYSE:ETN) last released its quarterly earnings results on Friday, May 2nd. The industrial products company reported $2.72 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.70 by $0.02. Eaton had a net margin of 15.25% and a return on equity of 22.62%. The business had revenue of $6.38 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.26 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $2.40 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 7.3% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts expect that Eaton will post 12.02 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Eaton news, insider Michael Yelton sold 2,120 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 of the company’s stock, valued at $1,004,014.34. The trade was a 38.53% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, insider Craig Arnold sold 103,486 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, May 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $322.75, for a total transaction of $33,400,106.50. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 490,208 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $158,214,632. This represents a 17.43% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 156,660 shares of company stock valued at $49,622,894 over the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 0.30% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Eaton

Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of ETN. Nuveen LLC bought a new stake in shares of Eaton during the 1st quarter worth $1,472,231,000. Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of Eaton during the 4th quarter worth $1,495,582,000. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Eaton by 27,281.9% during the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 3,593,321 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $976,772,000 after buying an additional 3,580,198 shares during the period. Ameriprise Financial Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Eaton by 85.4% during the 1st quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 3,629,464 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $986,966,000 after buying an additional 1,672,175 shares during the period. Finally, Capital International Investors bought a new stake in shares of Eaton during the 4th quarter worth $523,541,000. 82.97% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.