Eaton (NYSE:ETN) Earns Strong-Buy Rating from Analysts at StockNews.com

StockNews.com initiated coverage on shares of Eaton (NYSE:ETN – Get Rating) in a research report report published on Thursday. The brokerage issued a strong-buy rating on the industrial products company’s stock.

ETN has been the subject of a number of other reports. Mizuho lifted their price objective on shares of Eaton from $160.00 to $168.00 and gave the stock a buy rating in a research report on Friday, January 13th. Bank of America lifted their price objective on shares of Eaton from $180.00 to $200.00 in a research report on Wednesday, March 8th. Oppenheimer cut shares of Eaton from an outperform rating to a market perform rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 6th. Barclays lifted their price objective on shares of Eaton from $130.00 to $148.00 and gave the stock an underweight rating in a research report on Thursday, February 9th. Finally, Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective on shares of Eaton from $185.00 to $200.00 and gave the stock an overweight rating in a research report on Friday, March 3rd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating, six have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Eaton presently has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and an average price target of $173.00.

Eaton Price Performance

NYSE:ETN opened at $160.15 on Thursday. Eaton has a 1-year low of $122.50 and a 1-year high of $178.75. The company has a current ratio of 1.38, a quick ratio of 0.84 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.49. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $167.27 and a 200 day simple moving average of $156.08. The stock has a market capitalization of $63.74 billion, a PE ratio of 26.04, a P/E/G ratio of 1.81 and a beta of 1.13.

Eaton (NYSE:ETN – Get Rating) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, February 8th. The industrial products company reported $2.06 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.05 by $0.01. Eaton had a net margin of 11.86% and a return on equity of 18.31%. The business had revenue of $5.38 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.34 billion. During the same period last year, the business earned $1.72 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 12.2% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts expect that Eaton will post 8.24 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Eaton Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 24th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 6th will be given a $0.86 dividend. This represents a $3.44 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.15%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 3rd. This is a boost from Eaton’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.81. Eaton’s payout ratio is presently 55.94%.

Insider Activity at Eaton

In related news, insider Joao V. Faria sold 2,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $176.71, for a total value of $441,775.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 71,314 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $12,601,896.94. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In related news, insider Brian S. Brickhouse sold 21,347 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $176.97, for a total value of $3,777,778.59. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 15,905 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,814,707.85. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, insider Joao V. Faria sold 2,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $176.71, for a total value of $441,775.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 71,314 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $12,601,896.94. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 33,377 shares of company stock valued at $5,864,193 over the last quarter. 0.56% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Horan Securities Inc. raised its stake in Eaton by 228.6% during the fourth quarter. Horan Securities Inc. now owns 161 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $25,000 after acquiring an additional 112 shares in the last quarter. Hollencrest Capital Management acquired a new position in Eaton during the fourth quarter worth about $28,000. RFP Financial Group LLC acquired a new position in Eaton during the fourth quarter worth about $30,000. Coppell Advisory Solutions Corp. acquired a new position in Eaton during the fourth quarter worth about $30,000. Finally, Alpha Paradigm Partners LLC acquired a new position in Eaton during the second quarter worth about $31,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.19% of the company’s stock.

About Eaton

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Eaton Corp. Plc is a power management company, which provides energy-efficient solutions for electrical, hydraulic, and mechanical power. It operates through the following segments: Electrical Americas and Electrical Global, Aerospace, Vehicle, and eMobility. The Electrical Americas and Electrical Global segments engage in sales contracts for electrical components, industrial components, power distribution and assemblies, residential products, single and three phase power quality, wiring devices, circuit protection, utility power distribution, power reliability equipment, and service.