Short Interest in Eaton Co. plc (NYSE:ETN) Drops By 10.7%

Eaton Co. plc (NYSE:ETN) was the recipient of a significant decline in short interest in September. As of September 15th, there was short interest totalling 4,590,000 shares, a decline of 10.7% from the August 31st total of 5,140,000 shares. Approximately 1.2% of the company’s shares are sold short. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 2,460,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 1.9 days.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on ETN shares. Wolfe Research upgraded shares of Eaton from an “underperform” rating to a “peer perform” rating in a research note on Friday, September 6th. Citigroup initiated coverage on shares of Eaton in a research note on Monday, September 16th. They set a “buy” rating and a $348.00 price objective on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price target on shares of Eaton from $320.00 to $315.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, August 2nd. Barclays lifted their price target on shares of Eaton from $318.00 to $319.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, August 2nd. Finally, Morgan Stanley initiated coverage on shares of Eaton in a research note on Friday, September 6th. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $370.00 price target for the company. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fourteen have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Eaton presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $337.41.

Eaton Stock Performance

Shares of ETN opened at $328.45 on Friday. Eaton has a 1 year low of $191.82 and a 1 year high of $345.19. The company has a market cap of $131.31 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 38.78, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.53 and a beta of 1.01. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.44, a quick ratio of 1.07 and a current ratio of 1.56. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $301.03 and a 200-day moving average of $313.73.

Eaton (NYSE:ETN) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 1st. The industrial products company reported $2.73 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.61 by $0.12. Eaton had a net margin of 15.12% and a return on equity of 21.45%. The company had revenue of $6.35 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.35 billion. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Eaton will post 10.75 earnings per share for the current year.

Eaton Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 23rd. Investors of record on Monday, August 5th were issued a $0.94 dividend. This represents a $3.76 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.14%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, August 5th. Eaton’s payout ratio is currently 44.39%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Eaton

In other Eaton news, insider Taras G. Jr. Szmagala sold 335 shares of Eaton stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $288.72, for a total transaction of $96,721.20. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 9,900 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,858,328. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. In other news, insider Taras G. Jr. Szmagala sold 335 shares of Eaton stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $288.72, for a total transaction of $96,721.20. Following the sale, the insider now owns 9,900 shares in the company, valued at $2,858,328. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, insider Heath B. Monesmith sold 49,040 shares of Eaton stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $301.02, for a total transaction of $14,762,020.80. Following the sale, the insider now owns 71,262 shares in the company, valued at approximately $21,451,287.24. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 52,511 shares of company stock valued at $15,809,326 over the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 0.53% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Eaton

Several institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund lifted its holdings in Eaton by 35.8% in the second quarter. Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund now owns 48,902 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $15,333,000 after purchasing an additional 12,902 shares during the period. Newbridge Financial Services Group Inc. lifted its holdings in Eaton by 90.3% in the second quarter. Newbridge Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 1,311 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $411,000 after purchasing an additional 622 shares during the period. SS&H Financial Advisors Inc. acquired a new stake in Eaton in the second quarter worth about $419,000. Heritage Wealth Management Inc. acquired a new stake in Eaton in the 2nd quarter valued at about $3,263,000. Finally, Sanctuary Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Eaton in the 2nd quarter valued at about $27,653,000. 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.