Eaton (NYSE:ETN) Reaches New 12-Month High – Here’s What Happened

Eaton Co. plc (NYSE:ETN) hit a new 52-week high during trading on Wednesday . The stock traded as high as $358.20 and last traded at $357.52, with a volume of 212514 shares. The stock had previously closed at $337.48.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts have weighed in on the company. Barclays reduced their target price on Eaton from $327.00 to $320.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, November 1st. Evercore ISI lowered their target price on shares of Eaton from $357.00 to $333.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, August 19th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on shares of Eaton from $315.00 to $342.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday, October 7th. Wolfe Research upgraded Eaton from an “underperform” rating to a “peer perform” rating in a research report on Friday, September 6th. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein began coverage on Eaton in a research report on Tuesday. They set an “outperform” rating and a $382.00 target price for the company. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fourteen have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Eaton currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $343.28.

Eaton Stock Up 1.7 %

The stock has a market capitalization of $144.95 billion, a P/E ratio of 39.02, a PEG ratio of 2.66 and a beta of 1.01. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $328.30 and a 200-day moving average price of $319.74. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.45, a current ratio of 1.53 and a quick ratio of 1.00.

Eaton (NYSE:ETN) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The industrial products company reported $2.84 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.80 by $0.04. Eaton had a return on equity of 21.97% and a net margin of 15.32%. The business had revenue of $6.35 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.37 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $2.47 EPS. Eaton’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.9% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts expect that Eaton Co. plc will post 10.79 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Eaton Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 22nd. Shareholders of record on Monday, November 4th will be issued a $0.94 dividend. This represents a $3.76 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.03%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, November 4th. Eaton’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 40.00%.

Insider Activity

In other Eaton news, Director Karenann K. Terrell bought 500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 21st. The shares were bought at an average cost of $298.97 per share, with a total value of $149,485.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now directly owns 500 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $149,485. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. In related news, Director Karenann K. Terrell purchased 500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 21st. The shares were acquired at an average price of $298.97 per share, for a total transaction of $149,485.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now directly owns 500 shares in the company, valued at approximately $149,485. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, insider Taras G. Jr. Szmagala sold 335 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, August 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $288.72, for a total transaction of $96,721.20. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 9,900 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,858,328. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 118,080 shares of company stock valued at $39,375,088. Insiders own 0.33% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Breakwater Investment Management raised its holdings in Eaton by 1,560.0% in the second quarter. Breakwater Investment Management now owns 83 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 78 shares in the last quarter. Proffitt & Goodson Inc. bought a new stake in Eaton during the second quarter worth about $29,000. LGT Financial Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Eaton in the second quarter worth about $33,000. West Financial Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Eaton during the third quarter valued at approximately $35,000. Finally, DT Investment Partners LLC purchased a new position in shares of Eaton during the third quarter valued at approximately $37,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors 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.