Royal Bank of Canada Forecasts Strong Price Appreciation for Eaton (NYSE:ETN) Stock

Eaton (NYSE:ETN) had its price target upped by investment analysts at Royal Bank of Canada from $374.00 to $392.00 in a research report issued to clients and investors on Friday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has an “outperform” rating on the industrial products company’s stock. Royal Bank of Canada’s price objective suggests a potential upside of 14.43% from the company’s previous close.

ETN has been the topic of several other research reports. Morgan Stanley began coverage on shares of Eaton in a research report on Friday, September 6th. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $370.00 target price on the stock. Evercore ISI lowered Eaton from an “outperform” rating to an “inline” rating and boosted their price objective for the stock from $333.00 to $389.00 in a research note on Wednesday, November 13th. UBS Group began coverage on Eaton in a research report on Wednesday, November 13th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $431.00 target price on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on Eaton from $315.00 to $342.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday, October 7th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group raised their price objective on Eaton from $400.00 to $440.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, December 6th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Eaton currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $368.83.

Eaton Price Performance

Shares of Eaton stock opened at $342.58 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $135.39 billion, a PE ratio of 36.44, a P/E/G ratio of 2.74 and a beta of 1.03. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $354.67 and a 200 day moving average price of $328.10. The company has a quick ratio of 1.00, a current ratio of 1.53 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.45. Eaton has a twelve month low of $233.73 and a twelve month high of $379.99.

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. Eaton had a return on equity of 21.97% and a net margin of 15.32%. The business had revenue of $6.35 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.37 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $2.47 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 7.9% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts predict that Eaton will post 10.8 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, insider Craig Arnold sold 61,569 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, November 6th. The shares were 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 owns 506,360 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $182,780,769.20. This trade represents a 10.84 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director Gregory R. Page sold 10,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, December 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $355.98, for a total value of $3,559,800.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 43,203 shares in the company, valued at approximately $15,379,403.94. The trade was a 18.80 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 76,981 shares of company stock valued at $27,660,117 over the last quarter. 0.53% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Eaton

A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of ETN. Breakwater Investment Management boosted its holdings in Eaton by 1,560.0% during the 2nd quarter. Breakwater Investment Management now owns 83 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $26,000 after acquiring an additional 78 shares during the period. Groupama Asset Managment boosted its stake in shares of Eaton by 83.2% in the third quarter. Groupama Asset Managment now owns 9,463 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $31,000 after purchasing an additional 4,298 shares during the period. LGT Financial Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Eaton in the second quarter valued at approximately $33,000. Morse Asset Management Inc purchased a new stake in Eaton during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $33,000. Finally, West Financial Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Eaton during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $35,000. 82.97% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.