Insider Buying: Eastern (NASDAQ:EML) Director Purchases $21,250.00 in Stock

Eastern Company (The) (NASDAQ:EML) Director Frederick Disanto acquired 1,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, June 16th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $21.25 per share, for a total transaction of $21,250.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 105,424 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,240,260. This represents a 0.96% increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink.

Eastern Price Performance

Eastern stock opened at $23.68 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $142.79 million, a PE ratio of 24.67 and a beta of 0.87. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29, a quick ratio of 1.64 and a current ratio of 3.52. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $21.72 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $20.10. Eastern Company has a twelve month low of $17.61 and a twelve month high of $26.77.

Eastern (NASDAQ:EML) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, May 12th. The industrial products company reported $0.11 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.50 by ($0.39). The company had revenue of $59.68 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations 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 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.9%. Eastern’s dividend payout ratio is 45.83%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Eastern

Several hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. BNP Paribas Financial Markets raised its stake in shares of Eastern by 82.9% in the 3rd quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 1,273 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $30,000 after acquiring an additional 577 shares in the last quarter. Gabelli Funds LLC boosted its position in Eastern by 0.4% during the third quarter. Gabelli Funds LLC now owns 165,000 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $3,871,000 after purchasing an additional 600 shares during the period. First Trust Advisors LP boosted its position in Eastern by 3.5% during the second quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 18,455 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $421,000 after purchasing an additional 617 shares during the period. Russell Investments Group Ltd. grew its holdings in Eastern by 0.3% during the third quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 257,126 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $6,032,000 after purchasing an additional 775 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Barclays PLC grew its holdings in Eastern by 10.9% during the fourth quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 9,002 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $177,000 after purchasing an additional 886 shares during the last quarter. 76.99% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

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