Eaton (NYSE:ETN) Price Target Cut to $315.00 by Analysts at Barclays

Eaton (NYSE:ETN) had its price target cut by Barclays from $325.00 to $315.00 in a research report released on Wednesday,Benzinga reports. They currently have an equal weight rating on the industrial products company’s stock.

Several other research firms also recently weighed in on ETN. Evercore ISI dropped their price target on Eaton from $382.00 to $326.00 and set an “in-line” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, February 19th. Melius Research restated a “hold” rating and set a $373.00 target price on shares of Eaton in a research report on Tuesday, January 28th. Royal Bank of Canada reduced their price target on shares of Eaton from $405.00 to $376.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, March 6th. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price target on shares of Eaton from $335.00 to $305.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, March 5th. Finally, KeyCorp upgraded Eaton from a “sector weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and set a $340.00 price objective for the company in a research report on Wednesday, March 12th. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $357.16.

Eaton Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:ETN opened at $274.05 on Wednesday. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $305.90 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $331.12. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.46, a current ratio of 1.50 and a quick ratio of 0.96. The company has a market capitalization of $107.37 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.85, a P/E/G ratio of 2.64 and a beta of 1.09. Eaton has a 1-year low of $255.65 and a 1-year high of $379.99.

Eaton (NYSE:ETN) last issued its earnings results on Friday, January 31st. The industrial products company reported $2.83 earnings per share for the quarter, topping 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 company posted $2.55 earnings per share. Research analysts expect that Eaton will post 12.02 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Eaton Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 28th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 10th were given a dividend of $1.04 per share. This is a boost from Eaton’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.94. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 10th. This represents a $4.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.52%. Eaton’s payout ratio is 43.79%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Eaton

A number of large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its stake in Eaton by 0.3% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 37,217,906 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $12,351,506,000 after purchasing an additional 99,291 shares during the last quarter. FMR LLC lifted its stake in shares of Eaton by 1.2% during the 4th quarter. FMR LLC now owns 15,222,248 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $5,051,807,000 after acquiring an additional 182,455 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Eaton by 1.6% during the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 8,198,412 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $2,714,677,000 after acquiring an additional 129,071 shares during the last quarter. Nuveen Asset Management LLC grew its position in Eaton by 4.3% in the 4th quarter. Nuveen Asset Management LLC now owns 4,671,185 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $1,550,226,000 after acquiring an additional 192,482 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Northern Trust Corp increased its stake in Eaton by 8.8% in the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 4,574,704 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $1,518,207,000 after purchasing an additional 368,241 shares during the period. 82.97% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.