Emerald (NYSE:EEX) Shares Gap Up – Time to Buy?

Shares of Emerald Holding, Inc. (NYSE:EEX) 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 trading hands.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have issued reports on the company. Wall Street Zen lowered Emerald from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, November 8th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “sell (d+)” rating on shares of Emerald in a research report on Monday, December 29th. Finally, Rosenblatt Securities restated a “buy” rating and issued a $7.70 price target on shares of Emerald in a research report on Wednesday, December 17th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $7.70.

Emerald Trading Down 3.9%

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 market cap of $910.90 million, a P/E ratio of 153.55 and a beta of 0.69. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $4.11 and its 200 day simple moving average is $4.68.

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

Emerald Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, November 20th. Stockholders of record on Monday, November 10th were paid a $0.015 dividend. This represents a $0.06 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.3%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, November 10th. Emerald’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 200.00%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Emerald

Hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Contrarian Capital Management L.L.C. raised its holdings in 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. Inspire Investing LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Emerald during the 1st quarter worth approximately $352,000. Citadel Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of Emerald by 197.6% during the third quarter. Citadel Advisors LLC now owns 92,276 shares of the company’s stock worth $470,000 after buying an additional 61,273 shares during the last quarter. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in Emerald in the second quarter valued at approximately $214,000. Finally, Cubist Systematic Strategies LLC acquired a new position in Emerald in the first quarter valued at approximately $116,000. Institutional investors 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.