Eastern (NASDAQ:EML) Downgraded by StockNews.com to Buy

StockNews.com downgraded shares of Eastern (NASDAQ:EML) from a strong-buy rating to a buy rating in a research note issued to investors on Thursday morning.

Eastern Stock Down 3.5 %

Eastern stock opened at $22.62 on Thursday. The company has a current ratio of 2.64, a quick ratio of 1.42 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.37. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $23.71 and a two-hundred day moving average of $26.69. Eastern has a twelve month low of $19.06 and a twelve month high of $35.03. The stock has a market capitalization of $138.57 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -21.96 and a beta of 1.08.

Eastern (NASDAQ:EML) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, May 6th. The industrial products company reported $0.31 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.41 by ($0.10). The company had revenue of $63.31 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $71.33 million. Eastern had a positive return on equity of 10.44% and a negative net margin of 2.26%.

Eastern Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 16th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, May 15th will be paid a $0.11 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, May 15th. This represents a $0.44 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.95%. Eastern’s payout ratio is currently -33.08%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Large investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC lifted its stake in shares of Eastern by 218.2% in the 4th quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC now owns 1,120 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $30,000 after purchasing an additional 768 shares in the last quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets increased its position in shares of Eastern by 12.3% in the 4th quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 8,346 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $222,000 after purchasing an additional 915 shares during the last quarter. Barclays PLC raised its stake in shares of Eastern by 13.8% in the 4th quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 7,824 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $207,000 after purchasing an additional 949 shares in the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. grew its position in shares of Eastern by 4.2% in the 4th quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 23,491 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $623,000 after acquiring an additional 955 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Bridgeway Capital Management LLC increased its stake in Eastern by 1.2% during the fourth quarter. Bridgeway Capital Management LLC now owns 84,256 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $2,236,000 after purchasing an additional 967 shares during the last quarter. 76.99% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Eastern Company Profile

The Eastern Company designs, manufactures, and sells engineered solutions to industrial markets in the United States and internationally. The company offers turnkey returnable packaging solutions, which are used in the assembly processes of vehicles, aircraft, and durable goods, as well as in production processes of plastic packaging products, packaged consumer goods, and pharmaceuticals; designs and manufactures blow mold tools and injection blow mold tooling products, and 2-step stretch blow molds and related components for the stretch blow molding industry; and supplies blow molds and change parts to the food, beverage, healthcare, and chemical industries.