Emerald (NYSE:EEX) Shares Gap Up – Here’s What Happened

Emerald Holding, Inc. (NYSE:EEX)’s stock price gapped up before the market opened on Tuesday . The stock had previously closed at $3.54, but opened at $4.11. Emerald shares last traded at $4.34, with a volume of 157,548 shares trading hands.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

EEX has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Rosenblatt Securities reduced their price target on Emerald from $7.90 to $7.70 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, November 3rd. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “sell (d)” rating on shares of Emerald in a research report on Monday, December 8th. Finally, Wall Street Zen downgraded Emerald from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, November 8th. 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, Emerald currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $7.70.

Emerald Stock Performance

The firm has a 50 day moving average of $4.16 and a 200-day moving average of $4.69. The company has a market cap of $911.11 million, a P/E ratio of 151.28 and a beta of 0.77. The company has a quick ratio of 0.81, a current ratio of 0.81 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.35.

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). Emerald had a return on equity of 1.20% and a net margin of 1.05%.The firm had revenue of $77.50 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $76.80 million.

Emerald Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, November 20th. Shareholders of record on Monday, November 10th were issued a dividend of $0.015 per share. This represents a $0.06 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.3%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, November 10th. Emerald’s dividend payout ratio is presently 200.00%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Emerald

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of EEX. Citadel Advisors LLC boosted 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 valued at $470,000 after purchasing an additional 61,273 shares in the last quarter. Squarepoint Ops LLC lifted its holdings in 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 buying an additional 9,787 shares during the period. Contrarian Capital Management L.L.C. boosted its position 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 valued at $4,474,000 after acquiring an additional 95,138 shares in the last quarter. State of Alaska Department of Revenue purchased a new position in shares of Emerald in the 3rd quarter valued at $31,000. Finally, Inspire Investing LLC raised its position in shares of Emerald by 13.6% in the 3rd quarter. Inspire Investing LLC now owns 90,067 shares of the company’s stock worth $458,000 after acquiring an additional 10,763 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 14.90% of the company’s stock.

About Emerald

Emerald Holding, Inc operates business-to-business (B2B) trade shows in the United States. The company provides B2B trade show franchises; and B2B print publications and digital media products, which provide industry specific business news and information across various sectors. It also offers B2B e-commerce and digital merchandising solutions to manufacturers and retailers through Elastic Suite and Bulletin platforms.