Analysts Set Eaton Co. plc (NYSE:ETN) Target Price at $295.60

Shares of Eaton Co. plc (NYSE:ETN) have received an average rating of “Moderate Buy” from the fifteen analysts that are currently covering the stock, Marketbeat Ratings reports. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation, three have assigned a hold recommendation and eleven have assigned a buy recommendation to the company. The average twelve-month price target among brokers that have covered the stock in the last year is $295.60.

ETN has been the topic of several research reports. Berenberg Bank upped their price target on shares of Eaton from $200.00 to $345.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 6th. Royal Bank of Canada upgraded shares of Eaton from a “sector perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and upped their price target for the stock from $286.00 to $371.00 in a research report on Friday, April 5th. Wolfe Research reiterated an “underperform” rating and set a $312.00 price target on shares of Eaton in a research report on Monday, April 8th. UBS Group upped their price target on shares of Eaton from $255.00 to $305.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, February 2nd. Finally, Citigroup upped their price target on shares of Eaton from $270.00 to $310.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, February 2nd.

Insider Activity

In other news, insider Ernest W. Marshall, Jr. sold 19,750 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $273.17, for a total value of $5,395,107.50. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 29,712 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $8,116,427.04. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In other news, insider Ernest W. Marshall, Jr. sold 19,750 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $273.17, for a total value of $5,395,107.50. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 29,712 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $8,116,427.04. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, insider Heath B. Monesmith sold 13,027 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $291.40, for a total value of $3,796,067.80. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 69,472 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $20,244,140.80. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 38,969 shares of company stock valued at $10,904,774 in the last ninety days. 0.53% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of Eaton

A number of large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Maryland State Retirement & Pension System increased its stake in Eaton by 0.9% during the 1st quarter. Maryland State Retirement & Pension System now owns 31,267 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $9,568,000 after purchasing an additional 265 shares in the last quarter. Everett Harris & Co. CA bought a new stake in Eaton during the 1st quarter worth approximately $294,000. American National Bank & Trust Co. VA bought a new stake in Eaton during the 1st quarter worth approximately $1,879,000. Park Edge Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Eaton during the 1st quarter worth approximately $242,000. Finally, Accel Wealth Management increased its stake in Eaton by 57.7% during the 1st quarter. Accel Wealth Management now owns 1,364 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $426,000 after purchasing an additional 499 shares in the last quarter. 82.97% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Eaton Stock Down 1.9 %

Shares of NYSE:ETN opened at $303.22 on Friday. Eaton has a 52 week low of $161.12 and a 52 week high of $331.47. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.43, a quick ratio of 1.02 and a current ratio of 1.51. The company’s fifty day moving average is $300.70 and its 200-day moving average is $254.56. The company has a market capitalization of $121.14 billion, a PE ratio of 37.81, a P/E/G ratio of 2.57 and a beta of 1.07.

Eaton (NYSE:ETN) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, February 1st. The industrial products company reported $2.55 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.47 by $0.08. Eaton had a net margin of 13.88% and a return on equity of 20.05%. The company had revenue of $5.97 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.91 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $2.06 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 10.8% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts predict that Eaton will post 10.28 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Eaton Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 29th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 11th were given a dividend of $0.94 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, March 8th. This is an increase from Eaton’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.86. This represents a $3.76 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.24%. Eaton’s dividend payout ratio is presently 46.88%.

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.