The Eastern Company (NASDAQ:EML) Short Interest Down 26.0% in February

The Eastern Company (NASDAQ:EML) saw a large drop in short interest during the month of February. As of February 28th, there was short interest totalling 32,200 shares, a drop of 26.0% from the February 13th total of 43,500 shares. Currently, 0.6% of the shares of the company are sold short. Based on an average daily volume of 10,300 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 3.1 days.

Eastern Stock Performance

Shares of EML stock traded up $0.34 on Monday, hitting $27.18. 6,494 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 23,215. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $27.37 and its two-hundred day moving average is $29.06. Eastern has a one year low of $23.15 and a one year high of $35.78. The firm has a market capitalization of $166.50 million, a PE ratio of -26.39 and a beta of 0.97. The company has a current ratio of 2.64, a quick ratio of 1.42 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.37.

Eastern (NASDAQ:EML) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, March 11th. The industrial products company reported $0.42 earnings per share for the quarter. Eastern had a negative net margin of 2.26% and a positive return on equity of 10.44%. The firm had revenue of $66.70 million during the quarter.

Eastern Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 14th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 14th were given a dividend of $0.11 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 14th. This represents a $0.44 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.62%. Eastern’s dividend payout ratio is currently -33.08%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Eastern

Several hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Minerva Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in Eastern by 0.8% during the 4th quarter. Minerva Advisors LLC now owns 500,978 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $13,296,000 after purchasing an additional 3,768 shares in the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its holdings in shares of Eastern by 1.0% in the fourth quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 391,042 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $10,378,000 after buying an additional 3,686 shares in the last quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. boosted its position in shares of Eastern by 3.9% in the fourth quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 256,278 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $6,802,000 after acquiring an additional 9,524 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its stake in Eastern by 0.9% during the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 128,232 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $3,404,000 after acquiring an additional 1,124 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Bridgeway Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in Eastern by 1.2% during the 4th quarter. Bridgeway Capital Management LLC now owns 84,256 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $2,236,000 after acquiring an additional 967 shares during the period. 76.99% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Separately, StockNews.com downgraded Eastern from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 19th.

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.