Eastern Company (The) (NASDAQ:EML) Short Interest Down 32.1% in May

Eastern Company (The) (NASDAQ:EML - Get Free Report) saw a significant drop in short interest in May. As of May 31st, there was short interest totalling 23,300 shares, a drop of 32.1% from the May 15th total of 34,300 shares. Currently, 0.4% of the company's stock are sold short. Based on an average trading volume of 10,200 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 2.3 days.

Eastern Stock Down 1.3%

Shares of Eastern stock traded down $0.31 on Friday, hitting $23.11. 16,352 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 20,094. Eastern has a 52-week low of $19.06 and a 52-week high of $35.03. The company has a quick ratio of 1.37, a current ratio of 2.77 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33. The stock has a market cap of $142.13 million, a P/E ratio of -17.51 and a beta of 1.08. The firm's 50-day moving average is $22.18 and its 200 day moving average is $25.38.

Eastern (NASDAQ:EML - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, May 6th. The industrial products company reported $0.31 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.41 by ($0.10). The company had revenue of $63.31 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $71.33 million. Eastern had a negative net margin of 3.01% and a positive return on equity of 10.22%.

Eastern Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 16th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, May 15th were given a dividend of $0.11 per share. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, May 15th. This represents a $0.44 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.90%. Eastern's payout ratio is -33.33%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Separately, Wall Street Zen lowered Eastern from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, May 8th.

Insider Buying and Selling at Eastern

In other Eastern news, Director Frederick D. Disanto bought 1,116 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 21st. The stock was bought at an average cost of $23.22 per share, for a total transaction of $25,913.52. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now directly owns 73,123 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,697,916.06. The trade was a 1.55% increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Insiders bought 8,447 shares of company stock valued at $193,379 over the last 90 days. 17.00% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Eastern

Hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Strs Ohio bought a new position in Eastern during the 1st quarter worth approximately $127,000. Empowered Funds LLC lifted its stake in Eastern by 7.1% during the first quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 31,855 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $807,000 after purchasing an additional 2,100 shares during the last quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. lifted its stake in Eastern by 43.4% during the first quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 20,533 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $520,000 after purchasing an additional 6,219 shares during the last quarter. Koss Olinger Consulting LLC acquired a new position in Eastern in the first quarter worth $591,000. Finally, Minerva Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in Eastern by 1.0% in the first quarter. Minerva Advisors LLC now owns 505,987 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $12,812,000 after purchasing an additional 5,009 shares during the period. 76.99% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.