Eaton’s (ETN) Hold Rating Reiterated at Melius Research

Melius Research reissued their hold rating on shares of Eaton (NYSE:ETN) in a research note published on Tuesday, MarketBeat reports. The firm currently has a $373.00 price target on the industrial products company’s stock.

Other analysts have also issued research reports about the company. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their price target on Eaton from $400.00 to $440.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, December 6th. Barclays boosted their price target on Eaton from $320.00 to $353.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, December 5th. Mizuho boosted their price target on Eaton from $365.00 to $385.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, November 1st. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price target on Eaton from $365.00 to $350.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, January 7th. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein initiated coverage on Eaton in a report on Tuesday, November 5th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $382.00 price target for the company. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Eaton currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $369.30.

Eaton Stock Up 3.0 %

Eaton stock opened at $327.08 on Tuesday. The stock has a market cap of $129.26 billion, a PE ratio of 34.80, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.57 and a beta of 1.06. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.45, a quick ratio of 1.00 and a current ratio of 1.53. Eaton has a one year low of $245.65 and a one year high of $379.99. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $351.13 and a 200 day moving average of $331.12.

Eaton (NYSE:ETN) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 31st. The industrial products company reported $2.84 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.80 by $0.04. The company had revenue of $6.35 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.37 billion. Eaton had a return on equity of 21.97% and a net margin of 15.32%. Eaton’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $2.47 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Eaton will post 10.79 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity at Eaton

In related news, insider Craig Arnold sold 61,569 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, November 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $360.97, for a total transaction of $22,224,561.93. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 506,360 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $182,780,769.20. This represents a 10.84 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, insider Ernest W. Marshall, Jr. sold 1,412 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $378.58, for a total value of $534,554.96. Following the sale, the insider now owns 31,200 shares in the company, valued at approximately $11,811,696. This trade represents a 4.33 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders sold 72,981 shares of company stock valued at $26,318,917. Insiders own 0.53% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Eaton

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Wetzel Investment Advisors Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Eaton by 0.9% in the fourth quarter. Wetzel Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 3,101 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $1,029,000 after buying an additional 28 shares during the period. Strategic Wealth Partners Ltd. raised its holdings in shares of Eaton by 3.0% in the third quarter. Strategic Wealth Partners Ltd. now owns 1,027 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $340,000 after buying an additional 30 shares during the period. Fairfield Financial Advisors LTD raised its holdings in shares of Eaton by 16.2% in the third quarter. Fairfield Financial Advisors LTD now owns 215 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $71,000 after buying an additional 30 shares during the period. Westmount Partners LLC raised its holdings in shares of Eaton by 3.1% in the fourth quarter. Westmount Partners LLC now owns 985 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $327,000 after buying an additional 30 shares during the period. Finally, Signal Advisors Wealth LLC raised its holdings in shares of Eaton by 3.5% in the fourth quarter. Signal Advisors Wealth LLC now owns 896 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $297,000 after buying an additional 30 shares during the period. 82.97% of the stock is currently 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.