Eaton Co. plc (NYSE:ETN) Receives Average Recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from Brokerages

Shares of Eaton Co. plc (NYSE:ETN) have earned an average rating of “Moderate Buy” from the nineteen analysts that are presently covering the stock, MarketBeat.com reports. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have issued a buy rating on the company. The average twelve-month target price among brokerages that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $357.16.

ETN has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Melius Research restated a “hold” rating and issued a $373.00 target price on shares of Eaton in a research note on Tuesday, January 28th. Jefferies Financial Group reduced their target price on Eaton from $390.00 to $335.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, March 12th. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price target on Eaton from $335.00 to $305.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, March 5th. Evercore ISI reduced their price objective on Eaton from $382.00 to $326.00 and set an “in-line” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, February 19th. Finally, Barclays lowered their target price on shares of Eaton from $325.00 to $315.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, March 26th.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. Wetzel Investment Advisors Inc. grew its position in Eaton by 0.9% in the 4th quarter. Wetzel Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 3,101 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $1,029,000 after buying an additional 28 shares in the last quarter. Westmount Partners LLC raised its holdings in Eaton by 3.1% during the fourth quarter. Westmount Partners LLC now owns 985 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $327,000 after purchasing an additional 30 shares in the last quarter. Signal Advisors Wealth LLC lifted its position in Eaton by 3.5% in the fourth quarter. Signal Advisors Wealth LLC now owns 896 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $297,000 after purchasing an additional 30 shares during the period. Lantz Financial LLC boosted its stake in Eaton by 4.8% during the 4th quarter. Lantz Financial LLC now owns 659 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $219,000 after purchasing an additional 30 shares in the last quarter. Finally, FARMERS & MERCHANTS TRUST Co OF LONG BEACH increased its position in shares of Eaton by 2.0% during the 4th quarter. FARMERS & MERCHANTS TRUST Co OF LONG BEACH now owns 1,639 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $544,000 after purchasing an additional 32 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 82.97% of the company’s stock.

Eaton Trading Up 2.8 %

NYSE:ETN opened at $284.40 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $111.42 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.94, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.64 and a beta of 1.09. Eaton has a one year low of $255.65 and a one year high of $379.99. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.46, a quick ratio of 0.96 and a current ratio of 1.50. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $301.05 and its 200 day simple moving average is $330.91.

Eaton (NYSE:ETN) last released its earnings results on Friday, January 31st. The industrial products company reported $2.83 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.82 by $0.01. Eaton had a return on equity of 22.62% and a net margin of 15.25%. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $2.55 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Eaton will post 12.02 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Eaton Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 28th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 10th were paid a dividend of $1.04 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 10th. This represents a $4.16 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.46%. This is an increase from Eaton’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.94. Eaton’s payout ratio is presently 43.79%.

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.