Raymond James Initiates Coverage on Eaton (NYSE:ETN)

Equities researchers at Raymond James started coverage on shares of Eaton (NYSE:ETN) in a research report issued on Friday, Briefing.com reports. The firm set an “outperform” rating and a $375.00 price target on the industrial products company’s stock. Raymond James’ price target suggests a potential upside of 19.45% from the company’s current price.

A number of other research analysts also recently commented on ETN. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on Eaton from $279.00 to $325.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 1st. Royal Bank of Canada raised Eaton from a “sector perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and increased their price target for the stock from $286.00 to $371.00 in a research note on Friday, April 5th. Bank of America increased their price target on Eaton from $320.00 to $330.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, March 18th. 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 note on Friday, March 15th. Finally, Wolfe Research reissued an “underperform” rating and issued a $312.00 price target on shares of Eaton in a research note on Monday, April 8th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating and thirteen have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Eaton has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $318.06.

Eaton Price Performance

Shares of ETN opened at $313.94 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $125.51 billion, a P/E ratio of 37.06, a PEG ratio of 2.64 and a beta of 1.04. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $325.05 and a 200 day moving average price of $291.63. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.42, a current ratio of 1.56 and a quick ratio of 1.05. Eaton has a 12 month low of $191.82 and a 12 month high of $345.19.

Eaton (NYSE:ETN) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 30th. The industrial products company reported $2.40 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.28 by $0.12. The firm had revenue of $5.94 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.91 billion. Eaton had a return on equity of 20.69% and a net margin of 14.38%. The firm’s revenue was up 8.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $1.88 EPS. On average, research analysts forecast that Eaton will post 10.56 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity at Eaton

In related 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 value of $801,725.44. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 5,086 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,687,738.24. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. 0.53% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Eaton

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Ritholtz Wealth Management boosted its position in Eaton by 5.1% during the 4th quarter. Ritholtz Wealth Management now owns 5,724 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $1,379,000 after acquiring an additional 277 shares during the period. Pinnbrook Capital Management LP acquired a new stake in Eaton during the 4th quarter worth about $15,109,000. Congress Wealth Management LLC DE boosted its position in Eaton by 8.1% during the 4th quarter. Congress Wealth Management LLC DE now owns 76,731 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $18,479,000 after acquiring an additional 5,725 shares during the period. Pacer Advisors Inc. boosted its position in Eaton by 30.5% during the 4th quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 34,071 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $8,205,000 after acquiring an additional 7,964 shares during the period. Finally, Weiss Asset Management LP acquired a new stake in Eaton during the 4th quarter worth about $1,001,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 82.97% of the company’s stock.

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.