Emerald (NYSE:EEX) Shares Gap Up – Should You Buy?

Emerald Holding, Inc. (NYSE:EEX)’s share price gapped up prior to trading on Tuesday . The stock had previously closed at $4.55, but opened at $4.77. Emerald shares last traded at $4.7430, with a volume of 767 shares changing hands.

Analyst Ratings Changes

EEX has been the topic of a number of research reports. Rosenblatt Securities reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $7.70 target price on shares of Emerald in a research report on Wednesday, December 17th. Wall Street Zen downgraded Emerald from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, November 8th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “sell (d+)” rating on shares of Emerald in a report on Monday, December 29th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Emerald presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $7.70.

Emerald Trading Up 4.7%

The stock has a market capitalization of $956.41 million, a PE ratio of 161.25 and a beta of 0.69. The company has a current ratio of 0.81, a quick ratio of 0.81 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.35. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $4.11 and a 200-day moving average price of $4.68.

Emerald (NYSE:EEX) last issued its earnings results on Friday, October 31st. The company reported ($0.07) earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.04) by ($0.03). The firm had revenue of $77.50 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $76.80 million. Emerald had a return on equity of 1.20% and a net margin of 1.05%.

Emerald Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, November 20th. Stockholders of record on Monday, November 10th were given a $0.015 dividend. This represents a $0.06 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.2%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, November 10th. Emerald’s dividend payout ratio is presently 200.00%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Emerald

Several hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in EEX. State of Alaska Department of Revenue purchased a new stake in shares of Emerald during the 3rd quarter worth about $31,000. Police & Firemen s Retirement System of New Jersey acquired a new stake in Emerald during the second quarter worth $33,000. Vontobel Holding Ltd. purchased a new stake in shares of Emerald in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $61,000. Copeland Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in Emerald by 16.4% during the 2nd quarter. Copeland Capital Management LLC now owns 19,328 shares of the company’s stock worth $94,000 after acquiring an additional 2,718 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Cubist Systematic Strategies LLC purchased a new position in Emerald in the first quarter valued at $116,000. 14.90% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Emerald Company Profile

Emerald (NYSE: EEX) is a global provider of independent data, news and analytics for commodity, financial and energy markets. The company operates digital platforms that deliver real-time and historical price assessments, market commentary, research reports and risk-management tools. Its subscriber base spans traders, asset managers, corporate hedgers and financial institutions seeking timely intelligence to support trading, risk management and investment decisions.

Serving clients across North America, Europe and Asia-Pacific, Emerald covers a broad range of markets including metals, energy products, agriculture, freight, environmental emissions and treasury benchmarks.