Eaton (NYSE:ETN) Cut to “Hold” at StockNews.com

StockNews.com lowered shares of Eaton (NYSE:ETN) from a buy rating to a hold rating in a research report sent to investors on Friday morning.

A number of other equities analysts have also recently issued reports on the stock. Barclays lowered their price objective on shares of Eaton from $353.00 to $325.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, March 3rd. Jefferies Financial Group lowered their price objective on shares of Eaton from $390.00 to $335.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, March 12th. Royal Bank of Canada lowered their price objective on shares of Eaton from $405.00 to $376.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, March 6th. KeyCorp upgraded shares of Eaton from a “sector weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and set a $340.00 price objective for the company in a research report on Wednesday, March 12th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price objective on shares of Eaton from $335.00 to $305.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, March 5th. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Eaton currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $357.68.

Eaton Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:ETN opened at $295.88 on Friday. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $311.30 and a 200-day moving average of $331.67. The stock has a market capitalization of $115.92 billion, a PE ratio of 31.14, a PEG ratio of 2.64 and a beta of 1.09. 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 has a 12 month low of $255.65 and a 12 month high of $379.99.

Eaton (NYSE:ETN) last issued its earnings results on Friday, January 31st. The industrial products company reported $2.83 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 period in the previous year, the firm posted $2.55 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts predict that Eaton will post 12.02 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Eaton Increases Dividend

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

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of ETN. United Bank bought a new position in Eaton during the third quarter worth $258,000. GSA Capital Partners LLP acquired a new position in Eaton during the third quarter worth $295,000. Segall Bryant & Hamill LLC acquired a new position in Eaton during the third quarter worth $6,632,000. King Luther Capital Management Corp raised its holdings in Eaton by 15.7% during 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 buying an additional 521 shares during the last quarter. Finally, LPL Financial LLC raised its holdings in Eaton by 2.3% during the third quarter. LPL Financial LLC now owns 488,214 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $161,814,000 after buying an additional 10,939 shares during the last quarter. 82.97% of the stock is owned by 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.