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

Eastern (NASDAQ:EML) was downgraded by stock analysts at StockNews.com from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a report issued on Thursday.

Eastern Stock Up 2.5 %

NASDAQ EML traded up $0.69 during trading on Thursday, reaching $28.31. 14,051 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 10,911. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $27.88 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $29.36. The stock has a market cap of $174.96 million, a P/E ratio of -27.49 and a beta of 0.99. Eastern has a 1 year low of $22.63 and a 1 year 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.

Eastern (NASDAQ:EML) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, November 5th. The industrial products company reported $0.75 earnings per share for the quarter. The firm had revenue of $71.27 million during the quarter. Eastern had a positive return on equity of 10.44% and a negative net margin of 2.26%.

Institutional Trading of Eastern

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. MetLife Investment Management LLC boosted its stake in Eastern by 129.1% during the 3rd quarter. MetLife Investment Management LLC now owns 3,086 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $100,000 after purchasing an additional 1,739 shares during the period. Rhumbline Advisers purchased a new stake in shares of Eastern in the second quarter valued at about $134,000. Barclays PLC raised its holdings in shares of Eastern by 277.7% in the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 6,875 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $223,000 after buying an additional 5,055 shares during the last quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Eastern during the third quarter worth about $231,000. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. grew its holdings in shares of Eastern by 226.4% during the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 7,247 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $235,000 after buying an additional 5,027 shares during the last quarter. 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.