Eastern (NASDAQ:EML) Upgraded at Wall Street Zen

Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Eastern (NASDAQ:EML) from a hold rating to a buy rating in a research report released on Saturday.

Separately, Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Eastern in a research report on Wednesday, June 24th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating, According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold”.

Eastern Stock Performance

NASDAQ EML opened at $25.11 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $151.16 million, a P/E ratio of 18.74 and a beta of 0.84. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $24.75 and its 200 day simple moving average is $21.91. Eastern has a twelve month low of $17.61 and a twelve month high of $29.91. The company has a quick ratio of 1.32, a current ratio of 2.80 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.34.

Eastern (NASDAQ:EML) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, August 11th. The industrial products company reported $0.15 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.67 by ($0.52). Eastern had a return on equity of 3.38% and a net margin of 3.44%.The business had revenue of $61.82 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $73.69 million.

Eastern Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 15th. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 14th will be given a dividend of $0.11 per share. This represents a $0.44 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.8%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, August 14th. Eastern’s dividend payout ratio is currently 32.84%.

Insider Transactions at Eastern

In other news, Director James A. Mitarotonda acquired 3,736 shares of Eastern stock in a transaction dated Friday, June 5th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $21.73 per share, with a total value of $81,183.28. Following the purchase, the director owned 650,000 shares in the company, valued at $14,124,500. This trade represents a 0.58% increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director John Everets acquired 1,310 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, June 16th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $21.40 per share, with a total value of $28,034.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 142,504 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,049,585.60. This trade represents a 0.93% increase in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this purchase are available in the official SEC disclosure. In the last 90 days, insiders have bought 13,264 shares of company stock worth $285,179. Company insiders own 18.40% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in EML. Tieton Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Eastern in the second quarter valued at about $6,049,000. Ancora Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Eastern in the second quarter worth about $1,938,000. De Lisle Partners LLP purchased a new position in Eastern in the second quarter valued at about $1,336,000. Sei Investments Co. purchased a new position in Eastern in the first quarter valued at about $940,000. Finally, BlackRock Inc. bought a new position in shares of Eastern during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $1,128,000. 76.99% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.