Citigroup Issues Positive Forecast for Eaton (NYSE:ETN) Stock Price

Eaton (NYSE:ETN) had its target price hoisted by Citigroup from $435.00 to $464.00 in a report published on Monday morning,Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has a buy rating on the industrial products company’s stock.

Several other research firms have also recently commented on ETN. Barclays cut their price target on Eaton from $354.00 to $340.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, April 1st. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their target price on Eaton from $370.00 to $350.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, April 1st. Jefferies Financial Group assumed coverage on Eaton in a report on Monday, March 16th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $430.00 target price for the company. HSBC raised Eaton from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $400.00 target price for the company in a report on Friday, January 16th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reissued a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of Eaton in a report on Wednesday, January 21st. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fourteen have assigned a Buy rating and five have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $396.50.

Eaton Trading Down 0.0%

Eaton stock opened at $402.80 on Monday. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $369.27 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $356.55. The company has a quick ratio of 0.81, a current ratio of 1.32 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.45. The stock has a market cap of $156.28 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 38.51, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.77 and a beta of 1.17. Eaton has a 12 month low of $255.10 and a 12 month high of $408.45.

Eaton (NYSE:ETN) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 26th. The industrial products company reported $3.23 EPS for the quarter. The firm had revenue of $7.06 billion during the quarter. Eaton had a return on equity of 25.00% and a net margin of 14.89%. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Eaton will post 12.02 EPS for the current year.

Eaton Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 27th. Investors of record on Tuesday, March 10th were issued a dividend of $1.10 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, March 10th. This represents a $4.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.1%. This is a positive change from Eaton’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.04. Eaton’s payout ratio is 42.07%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, insider Sternadt Paulo Ruiz sold 10,707 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $390.26, for a total transaction of $4,178,513.82. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 27,729 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $10,821,519.54. This trade represents a 27.86% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. 0.10% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Eaton

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of ETN. PFA Pension Forsikringsaktieselskab acquired a new stake in Eaton during the 4th quarter valued at $97,989,000. SG Americas Securities LLC increased its holdings in Eaton by 438.9% during the 4th quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 364,877 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $116,217,000 after purchasing an additional 297,166 shares in the last quarter. Clal Insurance Enterprises Holdings Ltd boosted its position in Eaton by 239,384.8% in the 4th quarter. Clal Insurance Enterprises Holdings Ltd now owns 158,060 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $50,344,000 after buying an additional 157,994 shares during the last quarter. Silvercrest Asset Management Group LLC boosted its position in Eaton by 23.1% in the 4th quarter. Silvercrest Asset Management Group LLC now owns 310,859 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $99,012,000 after buying an additional 58,281 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Entropy Technologies LP bought a new position in Eaton in the 4th quarter valued at $14,786,000. 82.97% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Eaton Company Profile

Eaton (NYSE: ETN) is a diversified power management company that designs, manufactures and distributes products and systems to manage electrical, hydraulic and mechanical power. The company’s offerings are used to improve energy efficiency, reliability and safety across a wide range of applications, with core capabilities in electrical distribution and control, industrial hydraulics and aerospace systems.

Its product portfolio includes switchgear, circuit breakers, transformers, power distribution units, uninterruptible power supplies and surge protection devices for electrical infrastructure, along with hydraulic pumps, valves and filtration systems for industrial and mobile equipment.