Emerald (NYSE:EEX) Trading 9.5% Higher – Time to Buy?

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have recently issued reports on EEX. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “sell (d)” rating on shares of Emerald in a research note on Monday. Wall Street Zen lowered Emerald from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, November 8th. Finally, Rosenblatt Securities reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $7.70 target price on shares of Emerald in a research report on Wednesday. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $7.70.

Emerald Stock Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.35, a quick ratio of 0.81 and a current ratio of 0.81. The stock has a market cap of $1.00 billion, a P/E ratio of 169.39 and a beta of 0.77. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $4.16 and its 200 day moving average is $4.69.

Emerald (NYSE:EEX) last announced 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 net margin of 1.05% and a return on equity of 1.20%. The firm had revenue of $77.50 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $76.80 million.

Emerald Announces Dividend

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

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Emerald

A number of large investors have recently modified their holdings of EEX. Citadel Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of Emerald by 197.6% in the 3rd 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 during the last quarter. Squarepoint Ops LLC grew its position in Emerald by 26.0% during the 3rd quarter. Squarepoint Ops LLC now owns 47,364 shares of the company’s stock worth $241,000 after purchasing an additional 9,787 shares during the last quarter. Contrarian Capital Management L.L.C. increased its stake 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 purchasing 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 third quarter worth $31,000. Finally, Inspire Investing LLC raised its holdings in shares of Emerald by 13.6% in the third quarter. Inspire Investing LLC now owns 90,067 shares of the company’s stock worth $458,000 after buying an additional 10,763 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 14.90% of the company’s stock.

Emerald Company Profile

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.