Emerald Holding, Inc. (NYSE:EEX) Short Interest Up 196.3% in May

Emerald Holding, Inc. (NYSE:EEX) saw a significant growth in short interest during the month of May. As of May 15th, there was short interest totaling 780,404 shares, a growth of 196.3% from the April 30th total of 263,343 shares. Currently, 0.4% of the company’s shares are short sold. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 1,067,868 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 0.7 days.

Emerald Trading Down 0.2%

NYSE:EEX traded down $0.01 on Friday, reaching $4.99. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 58,284 shares, compared to its average volume of 723,836. Emerald has a 12-month low of $3.32 and a 12-month high of $5.45. The company has a quick ratio of 0.91, a current ratio of 0.91 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.47. The firm has a market cap of $987.57 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -26.26 and a beta of 0.55. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $4.75 and a 200 day moving average price of $4.51.

Emerald (NYSE:EEX) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Monday, May 11th. The company reported $0.04 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.10 by ($0.06). The firm had revenue of $155.40 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $155.40 million. Emerald had a negative net margin of 8.24% and a negative return on equity of 10.81%.

Emerald Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 1st. Investors of record on Thursday, May 21st will be issued a $0.015 dividend. This represents a $0.06 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.2%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 21st. Emerald’s payout ratio is currently -31.58%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have commented on EEX. Weiss Ratings restated a “sell (d)” rating on shares of Emerald in a research report on Friday, May 8th. Rosenblatt Securities restated a “neutral” rating and issued a $5.03 target price (down from $7.70) on shares of Emerald in a research report on Tuesday, May 12th. Finally, Maxim Group downgraded Emerald from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, May 11th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Emerald has an average rating of “Reduce” and a consensus price target of $5.03.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Emerald

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of EEX. Russell Investments Group Ltd. increased its holdings in Emerald by 127.0% during the 4th quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 6,957 shares of the company’s stock worth $31,000 after purchasing an additional 3,892 shares during the period. Abel Hall LLC purchased a new stake in Emerald during the 1st quarter worth about $48,000. Ritholtz Wealth Management purchased a new stake in Emerald during the 4th quarter worth about $67,000. Wells Fargo & Company MN increased its holdings in Emerald by 79.0% during the 4th quarter. Wells Fargo & Company MN now owns 15,308 shares of the company’s stock worth $68,000 after purchasing an additional 6,756 shares during the period. Finally, Cubist Systematic Strategies LLC purchased a new stake in Emerald during the 1st quarter worth about $116,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 14.90% of the company’s stock.

About Emerald

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.