The Eastern Company (NASDAQ:EML) Short Interest Up 85.9% in April

The Eastern Company (NASDAQ:EML - Get Free Report) was the recipient of a large growth in short interest in April. As of April 30th, there was short interest totalling 46,300 shares, a growth of 85.9% from the April 15th total of 24,900 shares. Currently, 0.8% of the shares of the stock are short sold. Based on an average daily volume of 18,100 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 2.6 days.

Eastern Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ EML traded down $0.22 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $28.93. 13,230 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 27,129. The stock has a market capitalization of $180.23 million, a PE ratio of 18.31 and a beta of 1.16. The company has a quick ratio of 1.24, a current ratio of 2.63 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.30. Eastern has a 52 week low of $16.10 and a 52 week high of $35.78. The company's 50 day moving average price is $30.15 and its 200 day moving average price is $24.56.

Eastern (NASDAQ:EML - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, March 12th. The industrial products company reported $0.56 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter. The firm had revenue of $67.00 million during the quarter. Eastern had a return on equity of 8.44% and a net margin of 3.69%.

Eastern Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 17th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, May 15th will be paid a dividend of $0.11 per share. This represents a $0.44 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.52%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, May 14th. Eastern's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 27.85%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts have weighed in on the company. TheStreet raised Eastern from a "c" rating to a "b-" rating in a report on Wednesday, March 20th. StockNews.com raised shares of Eastern from a "buy" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, March 14th.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Eastern

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Victory Capital Management Inc. bought a new position in Eastern during the 4th quarter worth approximately $75,000. Empowered Funds LLC boosted its stake 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 valued at $523,000 after purchasing an additional 1,050 shares during the period. Finally, Minerva Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of Eastern by 3.5% in the third quarter. Minerva Advisors LLC now owns 427,460 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $7,695,000 after purchasing an additional 14,284 shares during the last quarter. 76.99% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.

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