Insider Buying: Eastern (NASDAQ:EML) Director Purchases 1,310 Shares of Stock

Eastern Company (The) (NASDAQ:EML) Director John Everets bought 1,310 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, June 16th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $21.40 per share, for a total transaction of $28,034.00. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 142,504 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,049,585.60. The trade was a 0.93% increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink.

Eastern Trading Up 0.2%

NASDAQ EML traded up $0.04 during trading hours on Wednesday, reaching $21.92. The company had a trading volume of 23,365 shares, compared to its average volume of 17,051. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $21.59 and a 200 day moving average of $20.03. Eastern Company has a 1-year low of $17.61 and a 1-year high of $26.77. The company has a current ratio of 3.52, a quick ratio of 1.64 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29. The stock has a market capitalization of $132.18 million, a P/E ratio of 22.83 and a beta of 0.87.

Eastern (NASDAQ:EML) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, May 12th. The industrial products company reported $0.11 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.50 by ($0.39). Eastern had a net margin of 2.41% and a return on equity of 5.46%. The company had revenue of $59.68 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $67.74 million.

Eastern Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 15th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 15th were paid a $0.11 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, May 15th. This represents a $0.44 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.0%. Eastern’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 45.83%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Eastern

Several institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Teton Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Eastern in the third quarter valued at approximately $3,293,000. Sei Investments Co. purchased a new position in Eastern in the first quarter worth approximately $940,000. Renaissance Technologies LLC lifted its stake in Eastern by 15.6% in the first quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 133,237 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $2,697,000 after acquiring an additional 18,000 shares during the last quarter. Osaic Holdings Inc. lifted its stake in Eastern by 3,259.7% in the fourth quarter. Osaic Holdings Inc. now owns 13,674 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $269,000 after acquiring an additional 13,267 shares during the last quarter. Finally, LSV Asset Management lifted its stake in Eastern by 71.5% in the third quarter. LSV Asset Management now owns 23,403 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $549,000 after acquiring an additional 9,753 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 76.99% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Separately, Royal Bank Of Canada cut shares of Eastern from a “moderate buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, April 13th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating, According to data from MarketBeat, Eastern presently has an average rating of “Hold”.

About Eastern

Eastern (NASDAQ:EML), based in West Haven, Connecticut, is a diversified industrial manufacturer specializing in secure hardware and metal finishing services. The company operates through two primary segments: Industrial Hardware Products and Security Products, complemented by a Metal Coatings division. Its Industrial Hardware Products segment produces cold-headed fasteners, forgings, hinges and precision components for heavy commercial vehicles, hydraulic cylinders and industrial machinery.

The Security Products segment designs and manufactures a wide range of lock and latch solutions, including padlocks, door hardware, cabinet locks and rental security towers for commercial and institutional applications.