Eastern (NASDAQ:EML) Rating Lowered to Buy at StockNews.com

StockNews.com downgraded shares of Eastern (NASDAQ:EML) from a strong-buy rating to a buy rating in a report released on Saturday.

Eastern Price Performance

NASDAQ EML opened at $26.23 on Friday. Eastern has a twelve month low of $22.63 and a twelve month high of $35.78. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.37, a quick ratio of 1.42 and a current ratio of 2.64. The stock has a market capitalization of $162.10 million, a PE ratio of -25.47 and a beta of 0.98. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $27.69 and a 200 day simple moving average of $29.28.

Eastern Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 14th. Investors of record on Friday, February 14th will be given a dividend of $0.11 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 14th. This represents a $0.44 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.68%. Eastern’s dividend payout ratio is presently -42.72%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Eastern

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in EML. MetLife Investment Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Eastern by 129.1% in the 3rd quarter. MetLife Investment Management LLC now owns 3,086 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $100,000 after purchasing an additional 1,739 shares during the period. Barclays PLC grew its stake in shares of Eastern by 277.7% in the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 6,875 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $223,000 after purchasing an additional 5,055 shares during the period. HighTower Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Eastern in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $231,000. JPMorgan Chase & Co. grew its stake in shares of Eastern by 226.4% in the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 7,247 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $235,000 after purchasing an additional 5,027 shares during the period. Finally, BNP Paribas Financial Markets grew its stake in shares of Eastern by 719.3% in the 3rd quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 7,431 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $241,000 after purchasing an additional 6,524 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 76.99% of the company’s stock.

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.