Kennondale Capital Management LLC Takes $2.22 Million Position in Eaton Co. plc (NYSE:ETN)

Kennondale Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in Eaton Co. plc (NYSE:ETN) in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor bought 6,676 shares of the industrial products company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,216,000. Eaton comprises approximately 1.8% of Kennondale Capital Management LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 10th largest position.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in ETN. United Bank purchased a new stake in shares of Eaton in the third quarter valued at about $258,000. GSA Capital Partners LLP purchased a new stake in Eaton during the third quarter worth about $295,000. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans increased its holdings in Eaton by 38.7% during the third quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans now owns 80,187 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $26,576,000 after buying an additional 22,367 shares during the last quarter. Glass Wealth Management Co LLC increased its holdings in Eaton by 31.5% during the third quarter. Glass Wealth Management Co LLC now owns 3,905 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $1,294,000 after buying an additional 935 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Aljian Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in Eaton during the third quarter worth about $1,046,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 82.97% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

ETN has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Barclays decreased their price objective on shares of Eaton from $353.00 to $325.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Monday, March 3rd. Royal Bank of Canada decreased their price objective on shares of Eaton from $405.00 to $376.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, March 6th. Evercore ISI cut their target price on shares of Eaton from $382.00 to $326.00 and set an “in-line” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, February 19th. KeyCorp upgraded shares of 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, Melius Research reiterated a “hold” rating and set a $373.00 target price on shares of Eaton in a research report on Tuesday, January 28th. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $357.68.

Eaton Price Performance

ETN stock opened at $297.31 on Tuesday. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $315.29 and a 200-day moving average of $331.78. The company has a current ratio of 1.50, a quick ratio of 0.96 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.46. Eaton Co. plc has a 12 month low of $255.65 and a 12 month high of $379.99. The firm has a market capitalization of $116.54 billion, a P/E ratio of 31.30, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.64 and a beta of 1.09.

Eaton (NYSE:ETN) last announced its earnings results on Friday, January 31st. The industrial products company reported $2.83 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.82 by $0.01. Eaton had a net margin of 15.25% and a return on equity of 22.62%. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $2.55 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Eaton Co. plc will post 12.02 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Eaton Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 28th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 10th will be paid a dividend of $1.04 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 10th. This is an increase from Eaton’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.94. This represents a $4.16 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.40%. Eaton’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 43.79%.

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.