Eaton (NYSE:ETN) Shares Gap Up – Should You Buy?

Eaton Co. plc (NYSE:ETN)’s stock price gapped up before the market opened on Wednesday . The stock had previously closed at $357.63, but opened at $372.27. Eaton shares last traded at $370.47, with a volume of 539,433 shares traded.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have commented on the stock. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their price objective on shares of Eaton from $374.00 to $392.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, January 3rd. Citigroup reduced their price objective on Eaton from $440.00 to $410.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, January 13th. Jefferies Financial Group increased their price objective on Eaton from $400.00 to $440.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, December 6th. Barclays boosted their target price on Eaton from $320.00 to $353.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, December 5th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price target on Eaton from $350.00 to $348.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, January 15th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Eaton has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $368.89.

Eaton Stock Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.45, a current ratio of 1.53 and a quick ratio of 1.00. The company has a market capitalization of $146.06 billion, a PE ratio of 39.32, a P/E/G ratio of 2.57 and a beta of 1.06. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $353.61 and a 200 day simple moving average of $330.74.

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

Insider Transactions at Eaton

In other Eaton news, Director Gregory R. Page sold 4,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, November 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $335.30, for a total transaction of $1,341,200.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 51,422 shares in the company, valued at approximately $17,241,796.60. This represents a 7.22 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, insider Craig Arnold sold 61,569 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, November 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $360.97, for a total value of $22,224,561.93. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 506,360 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $182,780,769.20. This trade represents a 10.84 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 76,981 shares of company stock valued at $27,660,117 in the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 0.53% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Eaton

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of ETN. Point72 Asia Singapore Pte. Ltd. acquired a new stake in shares of Eaton during the second quarter worth $338,000. AQR Capital Management LLC lifted its position in Eaton by 63.6% during the second quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 509,906 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $159,881,000 after buying an additional 198,180 shares during the period. APG Asset Management N.V. boosted its stake in Eaton by 33.7% in the 2nd quarter. APG Asset Management N.V. now owns 199,553 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $58,381,000 after buying an additional 50,340 shares during the last quarter. Electron Capital Partners LLC grew its holdings in Eaton by 8,348.9% in the 2nd quarter. Electron Capital Partners LLC now owns 446,524 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $140,008,000 after buying an additional 441,239 shares during the period. Finally, DE Burlo Group Inc. increased its stake in shares of Eaton by 74.6% during the 2nd quarter. DE Burlo Group Inc. now owns 62,740 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $19,672,000 after acquiring an additional 26,800 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.