Eaton (NYSE:ETN) Price Target Increased to $385.00 by Analysts at Jefferies Financial Group

Eaton (NYSE:ETN) had its price objective upped by Jefferies Financial Group from $370.00 to $385.00 in a report published on Thursday morning, Benzinga reports. They currently have a buy rating on the industrial products company’s stock.

Several other analysts have also recently issued reports on the company. Royal Bank of Canada upgraded Eaton from a sector perform rating to an outperform rating and upped their price objective for the company from $286.00 to $371.00 in a research note on Friday, April 5th. Mizuho reiterated a buy rating and set a $355.00 price target (up from $340.00) on shares of Eaton in a research report on Wednesday, May 1st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on Eaton from $279.00 to $325.00 and gave the stock an overweight rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 1st. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their price target on Eaton from $287.00 to $328.00 and gave the stock a buy rating in a research report on Friday, March 15th. Finally, 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. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating and fourteen have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of Moderate Buy and an average price target of $323.06.

Eaton Trading Up 0.5 %

NYSE:ETN opened at $330.48 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.42, a quick ratio of 1.05 and a current ratio of 1.56. Eaton has a one year low of $191.82 and a one year high of $345.19. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $325.94 and its 200 day simple moving average is $298.91. The stock has a market cap of $132.13 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 39.02, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.78 and a beta of 1.02.

Eaton (NYSE:ETN) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 30th. The industrial products company reported $2.40 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.28 by $0.12. Eaton had a return on equity of 20.69% and a net margin of 14.38%. The firm had revenue of $5.94 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.91 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $1.88 earnings per share. Eaton’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.4% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Eaton will post 10.56 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Eaton Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 24th. Shareholders of record on Monday, May 6th were paid a dividend of $0.94 per share. This represents a $3.76 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.14%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, May 3rd. Eaton’s payout ratio is currently 44.39%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Eaton

In other Eaton news, insider Peter Denk sold 2,416 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $331.84, for a total transaction of $801,725.44. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 5,086 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,687,738.24. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. 0.53% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Eaton

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of ETN. Tennessee Valley Asset Management Partners acquired a new stake in shares of Eaton during the 4th quarter valued at $25,000. LifeSteps Financial Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Eaton in the first quarter valued at $25,000. Atwood & Palmer Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Eaton by 142.9% in the first quarter. Atwood & Palmer Inc. now owns 85 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $27,000 after purchasing an additional 50 shares in the last quarter. Clear Investment Research LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Eaton in the fourth quarter valued at $29,000. Finally, Redmont Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Eaton in the first quarter valued at $33,000. 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.