Eaton (NYSE:ETN) Earns Buy Rating from Analysts at UBS Group

UBS Group assumed coverage on shares of Eaton (NYSE:ETN) in a report issued on Wednesday morning, Marketbeat Ratings reports. The firm issued a buy rating and a $431.00 price objective on the industrial products company’s stock.

Other equities analysts also recently issued reports about the company. Evercore ISI downgraded Eaton from an “outperform” rating to an “inline” rating and boosted their price objective for the stock from $333.00 to $389.00 in a research report on Wednesday. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $374.00 price target on shares of Eaton in a research report on Friday, November 1st. Wolfe Research upgraded shares of Eaton from an “underperform” rating to a “peer perform” rating in a research note on Friday, September 6th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on shares of Eaton from $315.00 to $342.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday, October 7th. Finally, Citigroup assumed coverage on shares of Eaton in a research report on Monday, September 16th. They set a “buy” rating and a $348.00 price target on the stock. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Eaton presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $357.83.

Eaton Trading Down 0.8 %

Shares of NYSE ETN opened at $358.99 on Wednesday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.00, a current ratio of 1.53 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.45. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $335.82 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $321.35. Eaton has a 52-week low of $224.52 and a 52-week high of $373.49. The stock has a market capitalization of $141.87 billion, a P/E ratio of 38.19, a PEG ratio of 2.96 and a beta of 1.01.

Eaton (NYSE:ETN) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The industrial products company reported $2.84 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.80 by $0.04. Eaton had a return on equity of 21.97% and a net margin of 15.32%. The business had revenue of $6.35 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.37 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $2.47 EPS. The business’s revenue was up 7.9% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts anticipate that Eaton will post 10.79 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Eaton Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 22nd. Shareholders of record on Monday, November 4th will be given a $0.94 dividend. This represents a $3.76 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.05%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, November 4th. Eaton’s dividend payout ratio is 40.00%.

Insider Activity

In other news, insider Craig Arnold sold 61,569 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $360.97, for a total transaction of $22,224,561.93. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 506,360 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $182,780,769.20. This represents a 10.84 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director Gregory R. Page sold 4,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $335.30, for a total value of $1,341,200.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 51,422 shares in the company, valued at approximately $17,241,796.60. This trade represents a 7.22 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 68,705 shares of company stock worth $24,516,346. 0.53% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Eaton

Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Breakwater Investment Management increased its position in Eaton by 1,560.0% in the 2nd quarter. Breakwater Investment Management now owns 83 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $26,000 after buying an additional 78 shares during the period. Proffitt & Goodson Inc. bought a new position in Eaton during the second quarter worth $29,000. Groupama Asset Managment raised its stake in Eaton by 83.2% during the 3rd quarter. Groupama Asset Managment now owns 9,463 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $31,000 after purchasing an additional 4,298 shares during the last quarter. LGT Financial Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Eaton in the 2nd quarter valued at $33,000. Finally, Morse Asset Management Inc acquired a new stake in Eaton in the 3rd quarter worth $33,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.