Short Interest in Eaton Co. plc (NYSE:ETN) Drops By 7.1%

Eaton Co. plc (NYSE:ETN - Get Free Report) was the target of a significant decline in short interest in the month of January. As of January 31st, there was short interest totalling 4,730,000 shares, a decline of 7.1% from the January 15th total of 5,090,000 shares. Currently, 1.2% of the shares of the company are short sold. Based on an average trading volume of 2,560,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 1.8 days.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages have issued reports on ETN. Melius downgraded shares of Eaton from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and set a $373.00 price target on the stock. in a report on Tuesday, January 28th. Sanford C. Bernstein started coverage on shares of Eaton in a research note on Tuesday, November 5th. They set an "outperform" rating and a $382.00 price objective on the stock. Jefferies Financial Group upped their price objective on shares of Eaton from $400.00 to $440.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, December 6th. Barclays upped their price objective on shares of Eaton from $320.00 to $353.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Thursday, December 5th. Finally, UBS Group began coverage on shares of Eaton in a research note on Wednesday, November 13th. They set a "buy" rating and a $431.00 price objective on the stock. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $366.05.

Eaton Stock Down 3.8 %

ETN stock traded down $11.71 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $297.11. 4,384,405 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 3,361,427. The company has a market capitalization of $117.42 billion, a PE ratio of 31.27, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.65 and a beta of 1.05. 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 twelve month low of $255.65 and a twelve month high of $379.99. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $333.15 and a 200 day simple moving average of $331.88.

Eaton (NYSE:ETN - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Friday, January 31st. The industrial products company reported $2.83 earnings per share for the quarter, topping 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 company posted $2.55 earnings per share. On average, research analysts forecast that Eaton will post 12.02 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at Eaton

In other Eaton news, Director Gregory R. Page sold 10,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Friday, December 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $355.98, for a total transaction of $3,559,800.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 43,203 shares in the company, valued at approximately $15,379,403.94. This represents a 18.80 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, insider Ernest W. Marshall, Jr. sold 1,412 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $378.58, for a total transaction of $534,554.96. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 31,200 shares in the company, valued at $11,811,696. The trade was a 4.33 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 0.53% of the company's stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Large investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Flagship Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Eaton in the 4th quarter worth about $27,000. Noble Wealth Management PBC bought a new position in shares of Eaton in the 4th quarter worth about $30,000. Groupama Asset Managment lifted its position in shares of Eaton by 83.2% in the 3rd quarter. Groupama Asset Managment now owns 9,463 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $31,000 after buying an additional 4,298 shares during the last quarter. Horizon Bancorp Inc. IN lifted its position in Eaton by 321.7% in the 4th quarter. Horizon Bancorp Inc. IN now owns 97 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $32,000 after purchasing an additional 74 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Morse Asset Management Inc acquired a new position in Eaton during the 3rd quarter valued at about $33,000. 82.97% of the stock is currently 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.