Eastern (NASDAQ:EML) Downgraded to “Buy” Rating by StockNews.com

Eastern (NASDAQ:EML) was downgraded by research analysts at StockNews.com from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note issued on Wednesday.

Eastern Stock Performance

Eastern stock traded down $1.10 on Wednesday, reaching $29.14. 26,850 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 23,346. 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 has a twelve month low of $20.50 and a twelve month high of $35.78. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $30.01 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $29.24. The stock has a market cap of $180.17 million, a PE ratio of -28.29 and a beta of 0.98.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Eastern

Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of EML. MetLife Investment Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Eastern by 129.1% during the third quarter. MetLife Investment Management LLC now owns 3,086 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $100,000 after buying an additional 1,739 shares in the last quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC acquired a new stake in Eastern during the 2nd quarter valued at $110,000. Rhumbline Advisers bought a new position in Eastern in the 2nd quarter valued at $134,000. Barclays PLC boosted its stake in Eastern by 277.7% in the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 6,875 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $223,000 after purchasing an additional 5,055 shares in the last quarter. Finally, HighTower Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Eastern during the third quarter worth $231,000. 76.99% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

About Eastern

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.