Brokerages Set Eaton Corporation, PLC (NYSE:ETN) Price Target at $395.05

Eaton Corporation, PLC (NYSE:ETN) has been assigned an average rating of “Moderate Buy” from the twenty-one brokerages that are currently covering the stock, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation, fourteen have issued a buy recommendation and two have assigned a strong buy recommendation to the company. The average 12-month price objective among brokers that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $395.05.

A number of analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their target price on shares of Eaton from $370.00 to $350.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, April 1st. Weiss Ratings reissued a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of Eaton in a research note on Wednesday, January 21st. Jefferies Financial Group started coverage on shares of Eaton in a research report on Monday, March 16th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $430.00 price target on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price target on shares of Eaton from $440.00 to $406.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, January 16th. Finally, HSBC upgraded shares of Eaton from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $400.00 price target on the stock in a research report on Friday, January 16th.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Eaton news, insider Sternadt Paulo Ruiz sold 10,707 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $390.26, for a total value of $4,178,513.82. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 27,729 shares in the company, valued at $10,821,519.54. The trade was a 27.86% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. 0.10% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Eaton

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Hilton Head Capital Partners LLC bought a new position in shares of Eaton in the fourth quarter worth about $26,000. Sfam LLC acquired a new position in shares of Eaton during the fourth quarter worth approximately $27,000. Gunpowder Capital Management LLC dba Oliver Wealth Management acquired a new position in shares of Eaton during the fourth quarter worth approximately $28,000. Eagle Bay Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Eaton during the fourth quarter worth approximately $29,000. Finally, WFA of San Diego LLC acquired a new position in shares of Eaton during the second quarter worth approximately $36,000. 82.97% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Eaton Stock Performance

NYSE ETN opened at $403.11 on Wednesday. The stock has a market cap of $156.40 billion, a P/E ratio of 38.54, a PEG ratio of 2.76 and a beta of 1.17. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $368.41 and its 200 day simple moving average is $356.49. Eaton has a twelve month low of $255.10 and a twelve month high of $408.45. The company has a quick ratio of 0.81, a current ratio of 1.32 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.45.

Eaton (NYSE:ETN) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, February 26th. The industrial products company reported $3.23 earnings per share for the quarter. The business had revenue of $7.06 billion for the quarter. Eaton had a net margin of 14.89% and a return on equity of 25.00%. As a group, research analysts forecast that Eaton will post 12.02 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Eaton Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 27th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, March 10th were given a $1.10 dividend. This represents a $4.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.1%. This is a boost from Eaton’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.04. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, March 10th. Eaton’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 42.07%.

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.