Short Interest in Eastern Company (The) (NASDAQ:EML) Declines By 47.7%

Eastern Company (The) (NASDAQ:EML) saw a significant decrease in short interest during the month of August. As of August 31st, there was short interest totaling 25,800 shares, a decrease of 47.7% from the August 15th total of 49,300 shares. Approximately 0.5% of the shares of the stock are short sold. Based on an average daily volume of 10,800 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 2.4 days. Based on an average daily volume of 10,800 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 2.4 days. Approximately 0.5% of the shares of the stock are short sold.

Insider Buying and Selling at Eastern

In related news, Director Frederick D. Disanto acquired 3,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 18th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $22.58 per share, for a total transaction of $67,740.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 86,449 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,952,018.42. This trade represents a 3.60% increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Insiders have purchased 7,326 shares of company stock valued at $166,901 in the last quarter. 17.00% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Eastern

A number of large investors have recently modified their holdings of EML. Northern Trust Corp raised its holdings in shares of Eastern by 4.6% during the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 47,336 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $1,256,000 after buying an additional 2,077 shares in the last quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets raised its holdings in shares of Eastern by 12.3% during the 4th quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 8,346 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $222,000 after buying an additional 915 shares in the last quarter. Bank of America Corp DE raised its holdings in shares of Eastern by 9.7% during the 4th quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 18,088 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $480,000 after buying an additional 1,593 shares in the last quarter. Citadel Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Eastern during the 4th quarter valued at about $340,000. Finally, Deutsche Bank AG purchased a new position in shares of Eastern during the 4th quarter valued at about $43,000. 76.99% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Eastern Stock Up 0.6%

EML stock opened at $25.39 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 2.67, a quick ratio of 1.33 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.28. The company’s 50 day moving average is $23.42 and its 200 day moving average is $23.54. The stock has a market cap of $154.88 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -19.23 and a beta of 1.00. Eastern has a 1-year low of $19.06 and a 1-year high of $35.03.

Eastern (NASDAQ:EML) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, August 5th. The industrial products company reported $0.57 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.54 by $0.03. The company had revenue of $70.16 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $68.87 million. Eastern had a negative net margin of 3.06% and a positive return on equity of 10.44%.

Eastern Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 15th. Investors of record on Friday, August 15th will be issued a dividend of $0.11 per share. This represents a $0.44 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.7%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, August 15th. Eastern’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently -33.33%.

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.