Eaton (NYSE:ETN) Price Target Lowered to $306.00 at Barclays

Eaton (NYSE:ETN) had its price target cut by Barclays from $315.00 to $306.00 in a report issued on Friday,Benzinga reports. They currently have an equal weight rating on the industrial products company’s stock.

Other research analysts also recently issued reports about the company. Citigroup reduced their target price on Eaton from $440.00 to $410.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, January 13th. Royal Bank of Canada reduced their price objective on shares of Eaton from $405.00 to $376.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, March 6th. KeyCorp upgraded shares of Eaton from a “sector weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and set a $340.00 target price on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, March 12th. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Eaton from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, March 21st. Finally, Melius Research reiterated a “hold” rating and set a $373.00 price objective on shares of Eaton in a research note on Tuesday, January 28th. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $356.68.

Eaton Price Performance

NYSE:ETN opened at $246.36 on Friday. 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 50 day moving average price of $296.43 and a 200-day moving average price of $330.00. Eaton has a 1-year low of $236.58 and a 1-year high of $379.99. The firm has a market cap of $96.52 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.93, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.64 and a beta of 1.09.

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

Eaton Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 28th. Investors 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. This represents a $4.16 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.69%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 10th. Eaton’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 43.79%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Eaton

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. United Bank purchased a new position in Eaton in the third quarter worth approximately $258,000. Morse Asset Management Inc acquired a new stake in shares of Eaton during the 3rd quarter worth about $33,000. Royal London Asset Management Ltd. raised its holdings in Eaton by 5.2% in the 3rd quarter. Royal London Asset Management Ltd. now owns 195,351 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $64,747,000 after buying an additional 9,612 shares during the period. Quantinno Capital Management LP lifted its position in Eaton by 50.2% in the third quarter. Quantinno Capital Management LP now owns 34,438 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $11,414,000 after buying an additional 11,506 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Temasek Holdings Private Ltd acquired a new stake in shares of Eaton during the third quarter valued at about $43,627,000. 82.97% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.