Insider Buying: Eastern (NASDAQ:EML) Director Purchases 1,922 Shares of Stock

Eastern Company (The) (NASDAQ:EML) Director James Mitarotonda bought 1,922 shares of Eastern stock in a transaction dated Thursday, June 4th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $21.58 per share, for a total transaction of $41,476.76. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 646,264 shares in the company, valued at approximately $13,946,377.12. This trade represents a 0.30% increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link.

Eastern Stock Up 1.9%

Shares of Eastern stock traded up $0.40 during trading on Monday, hitting $21.90. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 19,400 shares, compared to its average volume of 16,179. Eastern Company has a 52 week low of $17.61 and a 52 week high of $26.77. The company has a market capitalization of $132.06 million, a PE ratio of 22.81 and a beta of 0.87. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $21.43 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $19.94. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29, a quick ratio of 1.64 and a current ratio of 3.52.

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

Eastern Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 15th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 15th will be given a $0.11 dividend. This represents a $0.44 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.0%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 15th. Eastern’s payout ratio is currently 45.83%.

Institutional Trading of Eastern

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

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Separately, Royal Bank Of Canada cut Eastern from a “moderate buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, April 13th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating, Based on 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.