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

Eastern Company (The) (NASDAQ:EML) Director Frederick Disanto acquired 1,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 6th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $18.39 per share, with a total value of $18,390.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director owned 99,689 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,833,280.71. The trade was a 1.01% increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website.

Eastern Price Performance

EML stock opened at $19.15 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.30, a quick ratio of 1.55 and a current ratio of 3.59. Eastern Company has a 52 week low of $17.61 and a 52 week high of $28.04. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $18.56 and its 200 day moving average is $20.52. The firm has a market cap of $115.67 million, a P/E ratio of 16.37 and a beta of 0.97.

Eastern (NASDAQ:EML) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, March 3rd. The industrial products company reported $0.31 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.36 by ($0.05). Eastern had a return on equity of 6.52% and a net margin of 2.90%.The business had revenue of $248.78 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $68.68 million.

Eastern Announces Dividend

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

Key Headlines Impacting Eastern

Here are the key news stories impacting Eastern this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Multiple director buys — Directors James Mitarotonda and Frederick Disanto purchased shares (small purchases at ~$18.29–$18.74 range). Insider buying signals management confidence and likely helped price support. James A. Mitarotonda Insider Trades SEC Filing
• Positive Sentiment: Quarterly dividend confirmed — Eastern declared a $0.11 quarterly dividend ($0.44 annualized, ~2.3% yield). The steady payout supports income-focused holders and reduces supply pressure from dividend-focused selling. MarketBeat EML Summary
• Positive Sentiment: Institutional buys — Several funds (e.g., Teton Advisors, Minerva, LSV) increased positions according to filings cited by MarketBeat, which can stabilize the stock and provide longer-term demand. MarketBeat EML Summary
• Neutral Sentiment: Sale/asset transaction reported — Distribution Solutions Group announced it acquired Eastern Valve & Control Specialties Ltd.; implications depend on deal terms (proceeds vs. lost earnings) and have not been clarified by Eastern management. DSG Acquires Eastern Valve
• Neutral Sentiment: Data/short-interest noise — Published short-interest figures show 0 shares and NaN changes (likely a reporting/data error); no clear short squeeze or covering signal from this data.
• Neutral Sentiment: Unrelated “Eastern” deal — A separate item noted Eastern Resources (AU:EFE) completing a gold-project acquisition — this is a different company and not directly relevant to EML. Eastern Resources Marengo Acquisition
• Negative Sentiment: Q4 earnings miss and soft end markets — Eastern reported Q4 EPS $0.31 vs. $0.36 consensus and flagged weak truck/automotive demand that pressured volumes; this remains the primary near-term negative for revenue/earnings momentum. Zacks: Q4 Earnings Fall

Institutional Trading of Eastern

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Eastern by 43.4% during the 1st quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 20,533 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $520,000 after acquiring an additional 6,219 shares during the period. Empowered Funds LLC raised its position in shares of Eastern by 7.1% in the 1st quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 31,855 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $807,000 after acquiring an additional 2,100 shares in the last quarter. Strs Ohio purchased a new position in shares of Eastern in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $127,000. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Eastern in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $326,000. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Eastern by 6.3% during the second quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 138,918 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $3,171,000 after purchasing an additional 8,205 shares in the last quarter. 76.99% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on the company. Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Eastern in a research report on Monday, December 29th. Wall Street Zen upgraded Eastern to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, January 10th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Hold rating, According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently 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.