Emerald (NYSE:EEX) Rating Lowered to Hold at Rosenblatt Securities

Emerald (NYSE:EEX) was downgraded by analysts at Rosenblatt Securities from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note issued on Monday,Zacks.com reports.

A number of other research analysts also recently commented on the stock. Maxim Group reaffirmed a “hold” rating on shares of Emerald in a research report on Monday. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “sell (d)” rating on shares of Emerald in a research report on Friday. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Reduce” and a consensus target price of $5.03.

Emerald Stock Performance

Shares of EEX opened at $5.00 on Monday. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $4.58 and its 200 day moving average price is $4.46. Emerald has a 52 week low of $3.32 and a 52 week high of $5.45. The company has a market capitalization of $988.56 million, a PE ratio of -26.29 and a beta of 0.55. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.47, a quick ratio of 0.82 and a current ratio of 0.82.

Emerald (NYSE:EEX) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Monday, May 11th. The company reported $0.04 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.10 by ($0.06). Emerald had a negative net margin of 8.24% and a negative return on equity of 10.60%. The company had revenue of $155.40 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $155.40 million.

Institutional Trading of Emerald

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. Advisory Research Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Emerald by 0.7% in the fourth quarter. Advisory Research Inc. now owns 1,789,157 shares of the company’s stock worth $7,998,000 after buying an additional 13,015 shares during the last quarter. MSD Partners L.P. lifted its stake in shares of Emerald by 31.3% in the fourth quarter. MSD Partners L.P. now owns 1,400,339 shares of the company’s stock worth $6,260,000 after buying an additional 333,701 shares during the last quarter. Contrarian Capital Management L.L.C. lifted its stake in shares of Emerald by 12.1% in the third quarter. Contrarian Capital Management L.L.C. now owns 879,000 shares of the company’s stock worth $4,474,000 after buying an additional 95,138 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp lifted its stake in shares of Emerald by 1.0% in the fourth quarter. State Street Corp now owns 241,698 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,080,000 after buying an additional 2,394 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Inspire Investing LLC lifted its stake in shares of Emerald by 3.6% in the first quarter. Inspire Investing LLC now owns 110,725 shares of the company’s stock worth $499,000 after buying an additional 3,857 shares during the last quarter. 14.90% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Key Emerald News

Here are the key news stories impacting Emerald this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Emerald agreed to be acquired by Apollo-managed funds in a cash deal valued at about $1.5 billion, with shareholders expected to receive $5.03 per share. That takeover premium has been the main catalyst supporting the stock. Emerald Expositions to Be Acquired by Apollo Funds
• Positive Sentiment: The company also declared a quarterly dividend of $0.015 per share, which may appeal to income-focused investors while the transaction is pending.
• Neutral Sentiment: Emerald reported quarterly revenue of $155.4 million, above expectations, but EPS of $0.04 missed the $0.11 consensus. The mixed results do not materially change the M&A-driven narrative. EEX earnings snapshot
• Negative Sentiment: Rosenblatt Securities reaffirmed a neutral rating but cut its price target to $5.03 from $7.70, implying only a small upside from the current trading level.
• Negative Sentiment: Maxim Group reiterated a hold rating and another report called the stock a downgrade, reinforcing the view that limited near-term upside remains after the deal announcement.
• Negative Sentiment: Multiple shareholder-investigation notices have emerged questioning whether the Apollo deal offers a fair price, which could create legal overhang and investor caution.

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.