Eaton (NYSE:ETN) Price Target Lowered to $340.00 at Barclays

Eaton (NYSE:ETN) had its price target trimmed by Barclays from $354.00 to $340.00 in a research note released on Wednesday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has an equal weight rating on the industrial products company’s stock.

Several other equities research analysts have also commented on the company. BMO Capital Markets assumed coverage on Eaton in a research report on Friday, March 27th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $428.00 price objective on the stock. Jefferies Financial Group assumed coverage on shares of Eaton in a report on Monday, March 16th. They set a “buy” rating and a $430.00 target price for the company. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price target on shares of Eaton from $370.00 to $350.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday. Royal Bank Of Canada restated an “outperform” rating and set a $407.00 price target on shares of Eaton in a research report on Wednesday, February 4th. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein reaffirmed an “outperform” rating on shares of Eaton in a report on Tuesday, January 27th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fourteen have assigned a Buy rating and five have given a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $395.05.

Eaton Stock Performance

NYSE ETN opened at $365.92 on Wednesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $141.97 billion, a P/E ratio of 34.98, a PEG ratio of 2.46 and a beta of 1.17. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $363.36 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $356.13. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.45, a quick ratio of 0.81 and a current ratio of 1.32. Eaton has a fifty-two week low of $231.85 and a fifty-two week high of $408.45.

Eaton (NYSE:ETN) last issued its 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 for the quarter. Eaton had a return on equity of 25.00% and a net margin of 14.89%. On average, equities analysts forecast that Eaton will post 12.02 earnings per share for the current year.

Eaton Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 27th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, March 10th were given a dividend of $1.10 per share. This is a positive change from Eaton’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.04. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, March 10th. This represents a $4.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.2%. Eaton’s payout ratio is 42.07%.

Insider Transactions at Eaton

In related news, insider Sternadt Paulo Ruiz sold 10,707 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $390.26, for a total value of $4,178,513.82. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 27,729 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $10,821,519.54. The trade was a 27.86% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 0.10% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Eaton

Institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Hilton Head Capital Partners LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Eaton during the fourth quarter worth about $26,000. Sfam LLC purchased a new position in Eaton in the 4th quarter valued at about $27,000. Gunpowder Capital Management LLC dba Oliver Wealth Management acquired a new stake in Eaton in the 4th quarter worth about $28,000. Eagle Bay Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Eaton during the 4th quarter worth approximately $29,000. Finally, WFA of San Diego LLC acquired a new position in shares of Eaton during the second quarter valued at approximately $36,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 82.97% of the company’s stock.

About Eaton

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.