Eaton Co. plc (NYSE:ETN) to Issue $0.94 Quarterly Dividend

Eaton Co. plc (NYSE:ETN) declared a quarterly dividend on Wednesday, July 24th, RTT News reports. Shareholders of record on Monday, August 5th will be paid a dividend of 0.94 per share by the industrial products company on Friday, August 23rd. This represents a $3.76 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.34%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, August 5th.

Eaton has increased its dividend by an average of 5.6% annually over the last three years and has increased its dividend every year for the last 15 years. Eaton has a dividend payout ratio of 31.9% indicating that its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Analysts expect Eaton to earn $11.83 per share next year, which means the company should continue to be able to cover its $3.76 annual dividend with an expected future payout ratio of 31.8%.

Eaton Stock Down 5.9 %

Shares of Eaton stock opened at $280.26 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $112.05 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.09, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.47 and a beta of 1.02. The company’s 50 day moving average is $317.93 and its 200 day moving average is $305.49. Eaton has a twelve month low of $191.82 and a twelve month high of $345.19. The company has a quick ratio of 1.05, a current ratio of 1.56 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.44.

Eaton (NYSE:ETN) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 1st. The industrial products company reported $2.73 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.61 by $0.12. The firm had revenue of $6.35 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.35 billion. Eaton had a return on equity of 21.45% and a net margin of 15.12%. Research analysts anticipate that Eaton will post 10.66 EPS for the current year.

Insider Transactions at Eaton

In other news, insider Peter Denk sold 2,416 shares of Eaton stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $331.84, for a total value of $801,725.44. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 5,086 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,687,738.24. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Insiders own 0.53% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have recently issued reports on ETN. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price target on Eaton from $320.00 to $315.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday. Argus raised their price target on Eaton from $290.00 to $350.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 2nd. Jefferies Financial Group raised their price target on Eaton from $370.00 to $385.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 11th. Raymond James started coverage on Eaton in a research note on Friday, June 28th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $375.00 price target on the stock. Finally, Wolfe Research reiterated an “underperform” rating and set a $312.00 target price on shares of Eaton in a research report on Monday, April 8th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating and fourteen have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $326.53.

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.