Eastern (NASDAQ:EML) Director Frederick Disanto Buys 1,000 Shares

Eastern Company (The) (NASDAQ:EML) Director Frederick Disanto bought 1,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, March 6th. The stock was bought at an average price of $18.39 per share, for a total transaction of $18,390.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director directly owned 99,689 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,833,280.71. This represents a 1.01% increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website.

Eastern Trading Up 2.8%

Shares of Eastern stock traded up $0.51 on Monday, hitting $19.05. 19,274 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 14,739. The company has a current ratio of 3.59, a quick ratio of 1.55 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.30. The company has a market cap of $115.06 million, a PE ratio of 16.28 and a beta of 0.97. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $18.58 and its 200-day moving average price is $20.58. Eastern Company has a 52 week low of $17.61 and a 52 week high of $28.15.

Eastern (NASDAQ:EML) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, March 3rd. The industrial products company reported $0.31 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.36 by ($0.05). The firm had revenue of $248.78 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $68.68 million. Eastern had a return on equity of 6.52% and a net margin of 2.90%.

Eastern Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 13th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 13th will be paid a dividend of $0.11 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 13th. This represents a $0.44 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.3%. Eastern’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 37.61%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms recently weighed in on EML. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Eastern in a research note on Monday, December 29th. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Eastern to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, January 10th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Hold rating, According to MarketBeat.com, Eastern has an average rating of “Hold”.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Eastern

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Teton Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Eastern in the 3rd quarter worth $3,293,000. Minerva Advisors LLC grew its position in Eastern by 3.8% during the 2nd quarter. Minerva Advisors LLC now owns 525,053 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $11,982,000 after purchasing an additional 19,066 shares during the last quarter. GatePass Capital LLC raised its holdings in shares of Eastern by 87.8% in the third quarter. GatePass Capital LLC now owns 33,800 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $793,000 after buying an additional 15,800 shares during the last quarter. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Eastern during the second quarter valued at $326,000. Finally, Osaic Holdings Inc. raised its stake in Eastern by 3,259.7% in the 4th 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. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 76.99% of the company’s stock.

Eastern Company Profile

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.