Eaton (NYSE:ETN) Rating Lowered to Hold at StockNews.com

StockNews.com downgraded shares of Eaton (NYSE:ETN) from a buy rating to a hold rating in a research report released on Friday.

Other analysts also recently issued research reports about the company. Jefferies Financial Group dropped their target price on Eaton from $390.00 to $335.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, March 12th. Evercore ISI dropped their target price on Eaton from $382.00 to $326.00 and set an “in-line” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, February 19th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their target price on Eaton from $350.00 to $348.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, January 15th. KeyCorp upgraded Eaton from a “sector weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and set a $340.00 target price for the company in a research report on Wednesday, March 12th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada dropped their target price on Eaton from $405.00 to $376.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, March 6th. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Eaton presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $357.68.

Eaton Stock Up 0.1 %

Shares of NYSE ETN opened at $295.88 on Friday. Eaton has a 12 month low of $255.65 and a 12 month high of $379.99. The company has a current ratio of 1.50, a quick ratio of 0.96 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.46. The firm has a market capitalization of $115.92 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.14, a PEG ratio of 2.64 and a beta of 1.09. The business has a 50-day moving average of $311.30 and a 200-day moving average of $331.08.

Eaton (NYSE:ETN) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Friday, January 31st. The industrial products company reported $2.83 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.82 by $0.01. Eaton had a return on equity of 22.62% and a net margin of 15.25%. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $2.55 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts expect that Eaton will post 12.02 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Eaton Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 28th. Investors of record on Monday, March 10th will be issued a dividend of $1.04 per share. This represents a $4.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.41%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 10th. This is an increase from Eaton’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.94. Eaton’s dividend payout ratio is currently 43.79%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Eaton

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in ETN. United Bank purchased a new stake in Eaton in the third quarter worth $258,000. GSA Capital Partners LLP purchased a new stake in shares of Eaton in the third quarter worth $295,000. Segall Bryant & Hamill LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Eaton in the third quarter worth $6,632,000. King Luther Capital Management Corp grew its stake in shares of Eaton by 15.7% in the third quarter. King Luther Capital Management Corp now owns 3,848 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $1,275,000 after acquiring an additional 521 shares during the last quarter. Finally, LPL Financial LLC grew its stake in shares of Eaton by 2.3% in the third quarter. LPL Financial LLC now owns 488,214 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $161,814,000 after acquiring an additional 10,939 shares during the last quarter. 82.97% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.