Embraer (NYSE:ERJ) Shares Gap Down – Time to Sell?

Embraer S.A. (NYSE:ERJ) shares gapped down prior to trading on Tuesday . The stock had previously closed at $46.20, but opened at $45.22. Embraer shares last traded at $45.56, with a volume of 238,852 shares trading hands.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

ERJ has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. TD Cowen raised Embraer to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Thursday, December 19th. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their price target on Embraer from $44.00 to $50.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, March 3rd. StockNews.com cut Embraer from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, March 10th. Finally, Wolfe Research reissued a “peer perform” rating on shares of Embraer in a research report on Monday, March 24th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have given a hold rating, two have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Embraer currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $44.50.

Embraer Stock Performance

The company has a current ratio of 1.56, a quick ratio of 0.76 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.74. The firm has a market capitalization of $8.44 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.89 and a beta of 1.70. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $46.10 and its 200-day moving average is $39.79.

Embraer (NYSE:ERJ) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 27th. The aerospace company reported $0.94 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.47 by $0.47. The company had revenue of $2.31 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.21 billion. Embraer had a net margin of 8.24% and a return on equity of 11.61%. On average, analysts predict that Embraer S.A. will post 2.04 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Embraer

A number of hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in ERJ. Invesco Ltd. increased its stake in shares of Embraer by 17,140.6% in the 4th quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 1,235,635 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $45,323,000 after acquiring an additional 1,228,468 shares in the last quarter. Vaughan Nelson Investment Management L.P. bought a new position in shares of Embraer during the 4th quarter worth about $42,313,000. Carrhae Capital LLP grew its stake in shares of Embraer by 48.1% in the 4th quarter. Carrhae Capital LLP now owns 2,670,740 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $97,963,000 after buying an additional 866,919 shares during the period. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. increased its position in Embraer by 959.2% in the 4th quarter. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. now owns 824,607 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $30,247,000 after buying an additional 746,758 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Victory Capital Management Inc. acquired a new position in Embraer during the 4th quarter worth approximately $25,024,000. 34.65% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

About Embraer

Embraer SA designs, develops, manufactures, and sells aircraft and systems in North America, Latin America, the Asia Pacific, Brazil, Europe, and internationally. The company operates through Commercial Aviation; Defense & Security; Executive Aviation; Services & Support; and Other segments. The Commercial Aviation segment designs, develops, manufactures, and sells commercial jets, as well as leases aircraft.