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

The Eastern Company (NASDAQ:EML) saw a large decrease in short interest during the month of October. As of October 31st, there was short interest totalling 77,200 shares, a decrease of 21.5% from the October 15th total of 98,300 shares. Currently, 1.4% of the company’s shares are short sold. Based on an average daily volume of 28,700 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 2.7 days.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Separately, StockNews.com upgraded shares of Eastern from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Friday, August 2nd.

Eastern Price Performance

Shares of Eastern stock opened at $28.26 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.42, a current ratio of 2.64 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.37. Eastern has a one year low of $17.82 and a one year high of $35.78. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $31.26 and a 200 day simple moving average of $29.30.

Eastern Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 13th. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 15th will be paid a dividend of $0.11 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 15th. This represents a $0.44 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.56%. Eastern’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently -42.72%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Eastern

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Victory Capital Management Inc. bought a new stake in Eastern during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $1,190,000. Ancora Advisors LLC grew its holdings in Eastern by 1.8% during the first quarter. Ancora Advisors LLC now owns 69,047 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $2,354,000 after buying an additional 1,250 shares in the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. bought a new stake in Eastern during the second quarter worth $632,000. Empowered Funds LLC lifted its stake in Eastern by 7.3% during the 1st quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 15,356 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $523,000 after acquiring an additional 1,050 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Rhumbline Advisers purchased a new position in Eastern during the 2nd quarter worth $134,000. 76.99% of the stock is owned by 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.