Emerald (NYSE:EEX) Stock Price Up 9.5% – Still a Buy?

Emerald Holding, Inc. (NYSE:EEX) rose 9.5% during mid-day trading on Thursday . The stock traded as high as $4.99 and last traded at $5.06. Approximately 37,266 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 62% from the average daily volume of 97,653 shares. The stock had previously closed at $4.62.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

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

Emerald Stock Performance

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 firm’s fifty day moving average price is $4.16 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $4.70. The stock has a market capitalization of $927.73 million, a PE ratio of 156.39 and a beta of 0.77.

Emerald (NYSE:EEX) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Friday, October 31st. The company reported ($0.07) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.04) by ($0.03). The firm had revenue of $77.50 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations 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 disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, November 20th. Stockholders of record on Monday, November 10th were given a $0.015 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, November 10th. This represents a $0.06 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.3%. Emerald’s payout ratio is 200.00%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Emerald

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in EEX. Citadel Advisors LLC increased its holdings in Emerald by 197.6% in the 3rd quarter. Citadel Advisors LLC now owns 92,276 shares of the company’s stock worth $470,000 after acquiring an additional 61,273 shares in the last quarter. Squarepoint Ops LLC increased its stake in shares of Emerald by 26.0% during the third quarter. Squarepoint Ops LLC now owns 47,364 shares of the company’s stock worth $241,000 after purchasing an additional 9,787 shares in the last quarter. Contrarian Capital Management L.L.C. raised its position in shares of Emerald by 12.1% during the 3rd quarter. Contrarian Capital Management L.L.C. now owns 879,000 shares of the company’s stock worth $4,474,000 after purchasing an additional 95,138 shares during the last quarter. State of Alaska Department of Revenue acquired a new position in shares of Emerald during the 3rd quarter worth about $31,000. Finally, Inspire Investing LLC lifted its stake in Emerald by 13.6% in the 3rd quarter. Inspire Investing LLC now owns 90,067 shares of the company’s stock valued at $458,000 after buying an additional 10,763 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 14.90% of the company’s stock.

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.