Eastern (NASDAQ:EML) Director Purchases $20,699.77 in Stock

Eastern Company (The) (NASDAQ:EML) Director Charles Henry bought 989 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, March 16th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $20.93 per share, for a total transaction of $20,699.77. Following the transaction, the director owned 79,194 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,657,530.42. This trade represents a 1.26% increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website.

Eastern Stock Down 0.4%

EML stock traded down $0.09 during midday trading on Tuesday, hitting $20.45. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 7,465 shares, compared to its average volume of 16,116. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $18.64 and a 200-day simple moving average of $20.43. The firm has a market capitalization of $123.53 million, a P/E ratio of 17.47 and a beta of 0.97. The company has a quick ratio of 1.55, a current ratio of 3.59 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.30. Eastern Company has a 52-week low of $17.61 and a 52-week high of $26.82.

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 company had revenue of $248.78 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $68.68 million. Eastern had a net margin of 2.90% and a return on equity of 6.52%.

Institutional Trading of Eastern

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of EML. Osaic Holdings Inc. grew its position in Eastern by 3,259.7% during the 4th quarter. Osaic Holdings Inc. now owns 13,674 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $269,000 after purchasing an additional 13,267 shares during the last quarter. Barclays PLC increased its stake in Eastern by 10.9% in 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 period. State Street Corp raised its holdings in shares of Eastern by 3.6% in the fourth quarter. State Street Corp now owns 74,569 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $1,468,000 after buying an additional 2,575 shares during the last quarter. Wells Fargo & Company MN raised its holdings in shares of Eastern by 6.2% in the fourth quarter. Wells Fargo & Company MN now owns 133,039 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $2,620,000 after buying an additional 7,779 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Barington Companies Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Eastern by 0.8% during the fourth quarter. Barington Companies Management LLC now owns 634,933 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $12,502,000 after buying an additional 4,833 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 76.99% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

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