StockNews.com Upgrades Eastern (NASDAQ:EML) to "Strong-Buy"

Eastern (NASDAQ:EML - Get Free Report) was upgraded by equities research analysts at StockNews.com from a "buy" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note issued to investors on Friday.

Eastern Stock Up 0.9 %

Shares of EML traded up $0.24 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $26.83. The stock had a trading volume of 9,067 shares, compared to its average volume of 9,835. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $27.82 and a 200-day simple moving average of $29.34. Eastern has a 1-year low of $22.63 and a 1-year high of $35.78. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.37, a current ratio of 2.64 and a quick ratio of 1.42. The firm has a market capitalization of $165.81 million, a P/E ratio of -26.05 and a beta of 0.98.

Eastern (NASDAQ:EML - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, November 5th. The industrial products company reported $0.75 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter. Eastern had a negative net margin of 2.26% and a positive return on equity of 10.44%. The business had revenue of $71.27 million during the quarter.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Eastern

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Segall Bryant & Hamill LLC bought a new stake in shares of Eastern during the 3rd quarter worth $1,667,000. Empowered Funds LLC raised its stake in shares of Eastern by 72.7% in the third quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 28,388 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $921,000 after buying an additional 11,952 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its stake in shares of Eastern by 2.3% in the second quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 386,281 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $9,838,000 after buying an additional 8,835 shares during the period. HighTower Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Eastern during the 3rd quarter valued at $231,000. Finally, BNP Paribas Financial Markets grew its stake in shares of Eastern by 719.3% during the 3rd quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 7,431 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $241,000 after acquiring an additional 6,524 shares during the period. 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.