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

StockNews.com lowered shares of Eastern (NASDAQ:EML) from a strong-buy rating to a buy rating in a report issued on Wednesday.

Eastern Stock Performance

Shares of EML stock opened at $28.96 on Wednesday. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $27.40 and its two-hundred day moving average is $29.23. 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 firm has a market capitalization of $178.97 million, a P/E ratio of -28.12 and a beta of 0.98. Eastern has a fifty-two week low of $22.63 and a fifty-two week high of $35.78.

Eastern Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 14th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 14th will be issued a dividend of $0.11 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 14th. This represents a $0.44 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.52%. Eastern’s dividend payout ratio is presently -42.72%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC increased its position in shares of Eastern by 218.2% during the 4th quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC now owns 1,120 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $30,000 after purchasing an additional 768 shares during the last quarter. Deutsche Bank AG acquired a new stake in shares of Eastern during the 4th quarter worth about $43,000. MetLife Investment Management LLC increased its position in shares of 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 last quarter. Barclays PLC increased its position in shares of Eastern by 277.7% during the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 6,875 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $223,000 after purchasing an additional 5,055 shares during the last quarter. Finally, HighTower Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Eastern during the 3rd quarter worth about $231,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors 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.