Eaton (NYSE:ETN) Shares Down 0.7% Following Analyst Downgrade

Eaton Co. plc (NYSE:ETN)’s stock price traded down 0.7% during mid-day trading on Tuesday after Raymond James lowered their price target on the stock from $375.00 to $365.00. Raymond James currently has an outperform rating on the stock. Eaton traded as low as $286.09 and last traded at $287.42. 315,678 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 85% from the average session volume of 2,159,107 shares. The stock had previously closed at $289.38.

Several other equities analysts have also issued reports on the company. Barclays raised their price target on Eaton from $318.00 to $319.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, August 2nd. Wells Fargo & Company cut their target price on shares of Eaton from $320.00 to $315.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, August 2nd. Royal Bank of Canada lowered their price target on shares of Eaton from $376.00 to $371.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Friday, August 2nd. Evercore ISI cut their price target on shares of Eaton from $357.00 to $333.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, August 19th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group upped their price objective on shares of Eaton from $370.00 to $385.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 11th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fourteen have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $335.18.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Eaton news, Director Dorothy C. Thompson bought 2,205 shares of Eaton stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, September 3rd. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $300.30 per share, with a total value of $662,161.50. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 2,205 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $662,161.50. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In other Eaton news, Director Dorothy C. Thompson bought 2,205 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, September 3rd. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $300.30 per share, for a total transaction of $662,161.50. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now owns 2,205 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $662,161.50. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director Karenann K. Terrell purchased 500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 21st. The stock was bought at an average price of $298.97 per share, for a total transaction of $149,485.00. Following the purchase, the director now directly owns 500 shares in the company, valued at $149,485. The disclosure for this purchase 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. Company insiders own 0.53% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Eaton

Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. SS&H Financial Advisors Inc. purchased a new position in Eaton in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $419,000. Heritage Wealth Management Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Eaton in the second quarter worth $3,263,000. Sanctuary Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Eaton during the second quarter valued at $27,653,000. Gordian Capital Singapore Pte Ltd purchased a new stake in shares of Eaton during the second quarter valued at $182,000. Finally, Dana Investment Advisors Inc. increased its holdings in Eaton by 1.4% in the 2nd quarter. Dana Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 23,461 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $7,356,000 after buying an additional 334 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 82.97% of the company’s stock.

Eaton Trading Down 0.4 %

The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $301.53 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $311.47. 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 market cap of $115.26 billion, a PE ratio of 34.04, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.19 and a beta of 1.01.

Eaton (NYSE:ETN) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 1st. The industrial products company reported $2.73 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates 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 for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.35 billion. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Eaton Co. plc will post 10.74 EPS for the current year.

Eaton Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 23rd. Shareholders of record on Monday, August 5th were issued a $0.94 dividend. This represents a $3.76 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.30%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, August 5th. Eaton’s dividend payout ratio is 44.39%.

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.