Eastern (NASDAQ:EML) Share Price Crosses Below Two Hundred Day Moving Average – What’s Next?

Shares of Eastern Company (The) (NASDAQ:EML) passed below its two hundred day moving average during trading on Tuesday . The stock has a two hundred day moving average of $22.49 and traded as low as $19.55. Eastern shares last traded at $19.74, with a volume of 5,397 shares changing hands.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Separately, Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Eastern in a report on Monday, December 1st. One analyst has rated the stock with a Hold rating, According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold”.

Eastern Trading Down 0.6%

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27, a quick ratio of 1.30 and a current ratio of 2.99. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $20.60 and a 200-day moving average price of $22.49. The stock has a market cap of $119.82 million, a P/E ratio of 15.92 and a beta of 1.00.

Eastern (NASDAQ:EML) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, November 4th. The industrial products company reported $0.13 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.77 by ($0.64). Eastern had a net margin of 2.96% and a return on equity of 7.18%. The company had revenue of $55.34 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $73.41 million.

Eastern Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 15th. Investors of record on Friday, November 14th will be given a $0.11 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, November 14th. This represents a $0.44 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.2%. Eastern’s payout ratio is 35.48%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director James A. Mitarotonda purchased 1,467 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, November 12th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $19.54 per share, for a total transaction of $28,665.18. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 631,567 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $12,340,819.18. This trade represents a 0.23% increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, Director Frederick D. Disanto purchased 2,925 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, November 19th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $18.82 per share, with a total value of $55,048.50. Following the purchase, the director owned 96,851 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,822,735.82. The trade was a 3.11% increase in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this purchase provides additional information. In the last three months, insiders purchased 9,484 shares of company stock worth $182,810. 17.00% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in EML. BNP Paribas Financial Markets boosted its stake in shares of Eastern by 82.9% in the 3rd quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 1,273 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $30,000 after purchasing an additional 577 shares in the last quarter. Focus Partners Wealth bought a new stake in Eastern in the third quarter worth $40,000. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC boosted its position in Eastern by 295.9% during the second quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC now owns 1,738 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $40,000 after buying an additional 1,299 shares during the period. Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new position in shares of Eastern during the second quarter valued at about $70,000. Finally, Strs Ohio purchased a new position in shares of Eastern in the first quarter worth about $127,000. 76.99% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.