Eaton (NYSE:ETN) Cut to Hold at Wall Street Zen

Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Eaton (NYSE:ETN) from a buy rating to a hold rating in a research note issued to investors on Saturday morning.

Other analysts have also issued reports about the stock. KeyCorp boosted their target price on shares of Eaton from $355.00 to $410.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 15th. Citigroup lifted their price objective on Eaton from $351.00 to $420.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, July 14th. Sanford C. Bernstein restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $396.00 price objective on shares of Eaton in a report on Monday, July 14th. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their price objective on Eaton from $345.00 to $382.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 8th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on Eaton from $310.00 to $360.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 1st. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fourteen have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Eaton has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $377.89.

Eaton Stock Up 0.8%

Shares of ETN opened at $384.42 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $150.42 billion, a P/E ratio of 38.79, a P/E/G ratio of 2.88 and a beta of 1.18. Eaton has a 12-month low of $231.85 and a 12-month high of $399.56. The company has a current ratio of 1.31, a quick ratio of 0.84 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.41. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $352.19 and a 200-day moving average price of $317.69.

Eaton (NYSE:ETN) last issued its 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. The firm had revenue of $6.38 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.26 billion. Eaton had a net margin of 15.55% and a return on equity of 23.41%. The business’s revenue was up 7.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $2.40 earnings per share. Equities research analysts expect that Eaton will post 12.02 earnings per share for the current year.

Eaton Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 22nd. Stockholders of record on Thursday, August 7th will be paid a dividend of $1.04 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, August 7th. This represents a $4.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.1%. Eaton’s payout ratio is presently 41.98%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Eaton

In other news, insider Craig Arnold sold 103,486 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated 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 owned 490,208 shares in the company, valued at approximately $158,214,632. The trade was a 17.43% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.30% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Eaton

A number of large investors have recently modified their holdings of ETN. Lyell Wealth Management LP boosted its position in Eaton by 3.2% in the second quarter. Lyell Wealth Management LP now owns 975 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $348,000 after buying an additional 30 shares during the last quarter. Commonwealth Financial Services LLC boosted its position in Eaton by 2.9% in the first quarter. Commonwealth Financial Services LLC now owns 1,175 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $319,000 after buying an additional 33 shares during the last quarter. E Fund Management Co. Ltd. boosted its position in Eaton by 3.1% in the first quarter. E Fund Management Co. Ltd. now owns 1,091 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $297,000 after buying an additional 33 shares during the last quarter. Beaumont Financial Advisors LLC boosted its position in Eaton by 2.6% in the second quarter. Beaumont Financial Advisors LLC now owns 1,307 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $467,000 after buying an additional 33 shares during the last quarter. Finally, SOA Wealth Advisors LLC. boosted its position in Eaton by 36.0% in the second quarter. SOA Wealth Advisors LLC. now owns 136 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $49,000 after buying an additional 36 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 82.97% of the company’s stock.

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.