Eaton (NYSE:ETN) Reaches New 12-Month High – Should You Buy?

Eaton Corporation, PLC (NYSE:ETN)’s share price reached a new 52-week high during trading on Friday . The stock traded as high as $409.36 and last traded at $410.2560, with a volume of 1054934 shares. The stock had previously closed at $392.73.

Analyst Ratings Changes

ETN has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of Eaton in a research report on Wednesday, January 21st. Barclays reduced their price objective on shares of Eaton from $354.00 to $340.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, April 1st. BMO Capital Markets initiated coverage on shares of Eaton in a research note on Friday, March 27th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $428.00 price objective for the company. HSBC raised shares of Eaton from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $400.00 price objective for the company in a research note on Friday, January 16th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price objective on shares of Eaton from $370.00 to $350.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, April 1st. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fourteen have assigned a Buy rating and five have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Eaton currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $396.50.

Eaton Stock Up 3.5%

The company has a market cap of $157.72 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 38.86, a P/E/G ratio of 2.72 and a beta of 1.17. The company has a current ratio of 1.32, a quick ratio of 0.81 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.45. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $371.44 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $357.33.

Eaton (NYSE:ETN) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, February 26th. The industrial products company reported $3.23 earnings per share for the quarter. The company had revenue of $7.06 billion for the quarter. Eaton had a return on equity of 25.00% and a net margin of 14.89%. On average, equities analysts predict that Eaton Corporation, PLC will post 12.02 earnings per share for the current year.

Eaton Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 27th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, March 10th were issued a $1.10 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, March 10th. This represents a $4.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.1%. This is a positive change from Eaton’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.04. Eaton’s dividend payout ratio is currently 42.07%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Eaton

In other news, insider Sternadt Paulo Ruiz sold 10,707 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $390.26, for a total value of $4,178,513.82. Following the transaction, the insider owned 27,729 shares in the company, valued at $10,821,519.54. This represents a 27.86% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. 0.10% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Eaton

A number of hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in ETN. Hilton Head Capital Partners LLC acquired a new position in Eaton in the fourth quarter worth approximately $26,000. Sfam LLC acquired a new position in Eaton in the fourth quarter worth approximately $27,000. Gunpowder Capital Management LLC dba Oliver Wealth Management acquired a new position in Eaton in the fourth quarter worth approximately $28,000. Eagle Bay Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Eaton in the fourth quarter worth approximately $29,000. Finally, WFA of San Diego LLC acquired a new position in Eaton in the second quarter worth approximately $36,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 82.97% of the company’s stock.

About Eaton

Eaton (NYSE: ETN) is a diversified power management company that designs, manufactures and distributes products and systems to manage electrical, hydraulic and mechanical power. The company’s offerings are used to improve energy efficiency, reliability and safety across a wide range of applications, with core capabilities in electrical distribution and control, industrial hydraulics and aerospace systems.

Its product portfolio includes switchgear, circuit breakers, transformers, power distribution units, uninterruptible power supplies and surge protection devices for electrical infrastructure, along with hydraulic pumps, valves and filtration systems for industrial and mobile equipment.