Analysts Set Eaton Co. plc (NYSE:ETN) PT at $364.65

Eaton Co. plc (NYSE:ETN) has been assigned an average rating of “Moderate Buy” from the nineteen analysts that are currently covering the firm, MarketBeat reports. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have given a buy rating to the company. The average twelve-month price target among brokers that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $362.58.

ETN has been the subject of several analyst reports. Evercore ISI decreased their target price on shares of Eaton from $382.00 to $326.00 and set an “in-line” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, February 19th. Jefferies Financial Group upped their target price on shares of Eaton from $400.00 to $440.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, December 6th. Melius downgraded shares of Eaton from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $373.00 target price for the company. in a research note on Tuesday, January 28th. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their target price on shares of Eaton from $335.00 to $305.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday. Finally, Bank of America upped their price target on shares of Eaton from $350.00 to $410.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 13th.

Eaton Price Performance

ETN opened at $285.29 on Tuesday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.96, a current ratio of 1.50 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.46. Eaton has a 52-week low of $255.65 and a 52-week high of $379.99. The company has a 50 day moving average of $321.13 and a two-hundred day moving average of $331.96. The company has a market cap of $111.83 billion, a P/E ratio of 30.03, a P/E/G ratio of 2.64 and a beta of 1.09.

Eaton (NYSE:ETN) last announced its earnings results on Friday, January 31st. The industrial products company reported $2.83 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.82 by $0.01. Eaton had a net margin of 15.25% and a return on equity of 22.62%. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $2.55 earnings per share. On average, analysts expect that Eaton will post 12.02 earnings per share for the current year.

Eaton Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 28th. Investors of record on Monday, March 10th will be issued a $1.04 dividend. This represents a $4.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.46%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 10th. This is a boost from Eaton’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.94. Eaton’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 43.79%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Gregory R. Page sold 10,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, December 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $355.98, for a total value of $3,559,800.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 43,203 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $15,379,403.94. This trade represents a 18.80 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 0.53% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Eaton

A number of large investors have recently modified their holdings of ETN. Capital A Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in Eaton in the 4th quarter valued at about $26,000. Flagship Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new position in Eaton in the 4th quarter valued at about $27,000. Noble Wealth Management PBC bought a new position in Eaton in the 4th quarter valued at about $30,000. Horizon Bancorp Inc. IN grew its position in Eaton by 321.7% in the 4th quarter. Horizon Bancorp Inc. IN now owns 97 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $32,000 after buying an additional 74 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Morse Asset Management Inc bought a new position in Eaton in the 3rd quarter valued at about $33,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 82.97% of the company’s stock.

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.