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

Shares of Eastern Company (The) (NASDAQ:EML) crossed below its 200-day moving average during trading on Tuesday . The stock has a 200-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 trading hands.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

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

Eastern Price Performance

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

Eastern (NASDAQ:EML) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, November 4th. The industrial products company reported $0.13 earnings per share (EPS) 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 for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $73.41 million.

Eastern Dividend Announcement

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

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Frederick D. Disanto bought 2,925 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 19th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $18.82 per share, with a total value of $55,048.50. Following the transaction, 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 transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director James A. Mitarotonda bought 1,467 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 12th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $19.54 per share, with a total value of $28,665.18. Following the purchase, the director owned 631,567 shares in the company, valued at $12,340,819.18. This trade represents a 0.23% increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase is available in the SEC filing. Insiders acquired 9,484 shares of company stock valued at $182,810 over the last 90 days. 17.00% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Eastern

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Minerva Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Eastern by 1.0% during the 3rd quarter. Minerva Advisors LLC now owns 530,053 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $12,435,000 after buying an additional 5,000 shares in the last quarter. Gamco Investors INC. ET AL boosted its stake in Eastern by 1.8% during the second quarter. Gamco Investors INC. ET AL now owns 511,218 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $11,666,000 after acquiring an additional 8,999 shares in the last quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. grew its holdings in Eastern by 0.3% in the third quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 257,126 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $6,032,000 after purchasing an additional 775 shares during the period. Gabelli Funds LLC increased its stake in shares of Eastern by 0.4% during the third quarter. Gabelli Funds LLC now owns 165,000 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $3,871,000 after purchasing an additional 600 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Teton Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Eastern during the third quarter valued at approximately $3,293,000. 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.