Eaton (NYSE:ETN) Shares Down 0.1% – What’s Next?

Shares of Eaton Co. plc (NYSE:ETN) fell 0.1% during mid-day trading on Thursday . The company traded as low as $334.33 and last traded at $334.74. 412,448 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 80% from the average session volume of 2,076,344 shares. The stock had previously closed at $335.12.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

ETN has been the subject of a number of research reports. Wolfe Research upgraded Eaton from an “underperform” rating to a “peer perform” rating in a report on Friday, September 6th. Sanford C. Bernstein initiated coverage on shares of Eaton in a research report on Tuesday, November 5th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $382.00 price objective for the company. Raymond James reduced their target price on shares of Eaton from $375.00 to $365.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, September 9th. UBS Group initiated coverage on Eaton in a report on Wednesday, November 13th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $431.00 price target for the company. Finally, Evercore ISI downgraded Eaton from an “outperform” rating to an “inline” rating and upped their target price for the stock from $333.00 to $389.00 in a research report on Wednesday, November 13th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $367.83.

Eaton Stock Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.45, a current ratio of 1.53 and a quick ratio of 1.00. The firm has a market capitalization of $133.13 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 35.84, a PEG ratio of 2.74 and a beta of 1.03. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $356.37 and its 200 day moving average is $326.88.

Eaton (NYSE:ETN) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The industrial products company reported $2.84 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.80 by $0.04. The company had revenue of $6.35 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.37 billion. Eaton had a return on equity of 21.97% and a net margin of 15.32%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 7.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business earned $2.47 EPS. On average, analysts predict that Eaton Co. plc will post 10.8 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Eaton Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 22nd. Investors of record on Monday, November 4th were issued a $0.94 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, November 4th. This represents a $3.76 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.12%. Eaton’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 40.00%.

Insider Transactions at Eaton

In other Eaton news, insider Ernest W. Marshall, Jr. sold 1,412 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $378.58, for a total value of $534,554.96. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 31,200 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $11,811,696. This represents a 4.33 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, insider Craig Arnold sold 61,569 shares of Eaton stock in a transaction 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 sale, the insider now owns 506,360 shares in the company, valued at $182,780,769.20. This represents a 10.84 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders sold 76,981 shares of company stock worth $27,660,117. 0.33% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of Eaton

A number of large investors have recently bought and sold shares of ETN. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC lifted its holdings in Eaton by 253.2% during the 3rd quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 2,273,685 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $753,590,000 after buying an additional 1,629,856 shares in the last quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Eaton by 27,075.5% in the third quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 1,073,976 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $355,959,000 after purchasing an additional 1,070,024 shares during the last quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC lifted its stake in shares of Eaton by 32.8% during the 3rd quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 2,419,200 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $801,798,000 after buying an additional 597,700 shares during the last quarter. Wulff Hansen & CO. raised its holdings in Eaton by 31,255.0% in the 2nd quarter. Wulff Hansen & CO. now owns 478,164 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $149,928,000 after acquiring an additional 476,639 shares during the period. Finally, Electron Capital Partners LLC grew its position in shares of Eaton by 8,348.9% in the second quarter. Electron Capital Partners LLC now owns 446,524 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $140,008,000 after purchasing an additional 441,239 shares during the last quarter. 82.97% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.