Eastern Company (The) (NASDAQ:EML) Sees Significant Increase in Short Interest

Key Points

• Short interest in Eastern Company increased by 49.4% in August, totaling 49,300 shares compared to 33,000 shares at the end of July, indicating heightened bearish sentiment among investors.
• The company declared a quarterly dividend of $0.11 per share, set to be paid on September 15th, reflecting an annualized yield of 1.8%.
• In recent insider trading activity, Director Frederick D. Disanto purchased 3,000 shares at an average price of $22.58, increasing his ownership stake in the company by 3.60%.

Eastern Company (The) (NASDAQ:EML - Get Free Report) saw a significant increase in short interest in August. As of August 15th, there was short interest totaling 49,300 shares, an increase of 49.4% from the July 31st total of 33,000 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 10,600 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 4.7 days. Approximately 0.9% of the company's shares are sold short. Approximately 0.9% of the company's shares are sold short. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 10,600 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 4.7 days.

Eastern Stock Up 0.6%

EML traded up $0.14 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $25.39. The company's stock had a trading volume of 4,464 shares, compared to its average volume of 12,994. The firm has a market capitalization of $154.88 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -19.23 and a beta of 1.00. The company has a current ratio of 2.67, a quick ratio of 1.33 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.28. Eastern has a 1 year low of $19.06 and a 1 year high of $35.03. The stock's 50-day moving average is $23.42 and its 200-day moving average is $23.57.

Eastern (NASDAQ:EML - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, August 5th. The industrial products company reported $0.57 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.54 by $0.03. The business 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 firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 15th. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 15th will be issued a $0.11 dividend. This represents a $0.44 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.7%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, August 15th. Eastern's dividend payout ratio is -33.33%.

Insider Transactions at Eastern

In related news, Director Frederick D. Disanto purchased 3,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 18th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $22.58 per share, with a total value of $67,740.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director directly owned 86,449 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,952,018.42. This represents a 3.60% increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Insiders have bought 7,326 shares of company stock valued at $166,901 over the last ninety days. 17.00% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Eastern

Institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its holdings in shares of Eastern by 7,124.4% during the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 2,962 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $75,000 after buying an additional 2,921 shares during the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp grew its holdings in shares of Eastern by 4.6% during the fourth 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 during the last quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets grew its holdings in shares of Eastern by 12.3% during the fourth 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 during the last quarter. Bank of America Corp DE grew its holdings in shares of Eastern by 9.7% during the fourth 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 during the last quarter. Finally, Deutsche Bank AG purchased a new stake in shares of Eastern during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $43,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 76.99% of the company's stock.

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.