Eastern (NASDAQ:EML) Stock Price Passes Above 200 Day Moving Average of $26.83

The Eastern Company (NASDAQ:EML)’s stock price passed above its two hundred day moving average during trading on Tuesday . The stock has a two hundred day moving average of $26.83 and traded as high as $28.08. Eastern shares last traded at $26.60, with a volume of 38,881 shares changing hands.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

EML has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. StockNews.com raised shares of Eastern from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, March 14th. TheStreet raised shares of Eastern from a “c” rating to a “b-” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 20th.

Eastern Trading Down 0.2 %

The business’s fifty day moving average is $28.05 and its 200-day moving average is $26.83. The stock has a market capitalization of $165.72 million, a PE ratio of 16.84 and a beta of 1.04. The company has a quick ratio of 1.35, a current ratio of 2.63 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.30.

Eastern (NASDAQ:EML) last released its earnings results on Monday, May 6th. The industrial products company reported $0.31 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter. Eastern had a net margin of 3.69% and a return on equity of 8.44%. The firm had revenue of $67.93 million during the quarter.

Eastern Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 17th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, May 15th were paid a dividend of $0.11 per share. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, May 14th. This represents a $0.44 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.65%. Eastern’s dividend payout ratio is currently 27.85%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CEO Mark Anthony Hernandez bought 2,341 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 16th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $28.99 per share, for a total transaction of $67,865.59. Following the completion of the purchase, the chief executive officer now owns 35,249 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,021,868.51. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. 17.00% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of Eastern

Several institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in EML. Empowered Funds LLC raised its holdings in shares of Eastern by 7.3% during the first quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 15,356 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $523,000 after purchasing an additional 1,050 shares during the period. Ancora Advisors LLC grew its position in Eastern by 1.8% in the 1st quarter. Ancora Advisors LLC now owns 69,047 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $2,354,000 after buying an additional 1,250 shares in the last quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. bought a new position in Eastern in the 4th quarter valued at about $75,000. Finally, Minerva Advisors LLC grew its position in Eastern by 3.5% in the 3rd quarter. Minerva Advisors LLC now owns 427,460 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $7,695,000 after buying an additional 14,284 shares in the last quarter. 76.99% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.