Melius Research Reaffirms Hold Rating for Eaton (NYSE:ETN)

Eaton (NYSE:ETN)‘s stock had its “hold” rating reiterated by analysts at Melius Research in a research note issued to investors on Tuesday,Benzinga reports. They presently have a $373.00 price objective on the industrial products company’s stock. Melius Research’s price target suggests a potential upside of 17.33% from the company’s previous close.

Other equities research analysts have also recently issued reports about the company. Melius cut Eaton from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $373.00 price objective for the company. in a research note on Tuesday. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their price objective on Eaton from $400.00 to $440.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, December 6th. Mizuho lifted their price objective on Eaton from $365.00 to $385.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, November 1st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their target price on Eaton from $350.00 to $348.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, January 15th. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein assumed coverage on Eaton in a research note on Tuesday, November 5th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $382.00 target price for the company. Six investment 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, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $369.30.

Eaton Stock Performance

Shares of Eaton stock opened at $317.90 on Tuesday. Eaton has a one year low of $245.65 and a one year high of $379.99. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.45, a quick ratio of 1.00 and a current ratio of 1.53. The company has a market cap of $125.63 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.82, a PEG ratio of 2.57 and a beta of 1.06. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $351.98 and its 200 day moving average price is $331.21.

Eaton (NYSE:ETN) last posted its earnings results 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 company had revenue of $6.35 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.37 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $2.47 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.9% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts predict that Eaton will post 10.79 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Eaton

In other Eaton news, insider Craig Arnold sold 61,569 shares of the company’s 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 sale, the insider now directly owns 506,360 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $182,780,769.20. This represents a 10.84 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Gregory R. Page sold 4,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $335.30, for a total value of $1,341,200.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 51,422 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $17,241,796.60. This represents a 7.22 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. 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 in the last ninety days. Insiders own 0.53% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Eaton

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Groupama Asset Managment increased its position in Eaton by 83.2% during the 3rd quarter. Groupama Asset Managment now owns 9,463 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $31,000 after purchasing an additional 4,298 shares during the period. Horizon Bancorp Inc. IN increased its position in Eaton by 321.7% during the 4th quarter. Horizon Bancorp Inc. IN now owns 97 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $32,000 after purchasing an additional 74 shares during the period. Morse Asset Management Inc acquired a new stake in shares of Eaton in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $33,000. Activest Wealth Management grew its holdings in shares of Eaton by 621.4% in the 4th quarter. Activest Wealth Management now owns 101 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $34,000 after acquiring an additional 87 shares during the period. Finally, West Financial Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Eaton in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $35,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 82.97% of the company’s stock.

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.