The Eastern Company (NASDAQ:EML) Sees Large Drop in Short Interest

The Eastern Company (NASDAQ:EML) was the target of a significant decrease in short interest in October. As of October 31st, there was short interest totalling 77,200 shares, a decrease of 21.5% from the October 15th total of 98,300 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 28,700 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 2.7 days. Currently, 1.4% of the company’s stock are short sold.

Eastern Stock Down 2.3 %

Shares of NASDAQ EML traded down $0.65 during trading on Friday, reaching $27.50. The company had a trading volume of 9,575 shares, compared to its average volume of 17,687. Eastern has a 12-month low of $17.82 and a 12-month high of $35.78. The stock has a market cap of $169.95 million, a PE ratio of -26.70 and a beta of 1.02. The business’s 50-day moving average is $31.18 and its 200 day moving average is $29.25. The company has a quick ratio of 1.42, a current ratio of 2.64 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.37.

Eastern Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 13th. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 15th will be paid a $0.11 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, November 15th. This represents a $0.44 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.60%. Eastern’s dividend payout ratio is currently -42.72%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Eastern

A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Victory Capital Management Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Eastern during the second quarter valued at $1,190,000. Ancora Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of Eastern by 1.8% in the first quarter. Ancora Advisors LLC now owns 69,047 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $2,354,000 after purchasing an additional 1,250 shares during the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. purchased a new position in Eastern in the 2nd quarter worth about $632,000. Empowered Funds LLC lifted its holdings in Eastern by 7.3% during the 1st quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 15,356 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $523,000 after buying an additional 1,050 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Rhumbline Advisers purchased a new stake in Eastern in the 2nd quarter valued at about $134,000. 76.99% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Separately, StockNews.com upgraded Eastern from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Friday, August 2nd.

About Eastern

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.