The continued strong performance of Emmis Communications makes it one of the strongest performers among publicly traded media companies for the first half of 2018.
Credit company head Jeff Smulyan for trimming the company’s holdings following an unsuccessful privatization effort launched in August 2016.
With Friday’s Closing Bell on Wall Street, Emmis shares are at $5.63, a 4.1% improvement from Thursday.
It’s a good way to end the week if you’re an investor, as Emmis on May 18 reached a recent high of $5.83, and has been hovering closely to that price point for the last month.
The resurgence of Emmis stock started on May 1, with shares at $4.43, but really began at the start of 2018.
On Jan. 23, Emmis stock was just $2.83.
One month later came the announcement that it was selling its stations in St. Louis in a further trimming of holdings that included the divestment of KPWR-FM “Power 106” in Los Angeles, its Terre Haute, Ind., radio stations and a host of glossy city publications including Texas Monthly.
The sales, following the failed fall 2016 privatization effort of Emmis spearheaded by Smulyan, appear to be giving Emmis an opportunity to reorganize as a media tech company with radio as a heritage point. With TagStation LLC and its NextRadio app still growing, a new Emmis steeped in digital — meshed with its core Indianapolis and New York stations — seems to be favored by investors.
With the sale of WLIB-AM 1190 in New York still pending along with the divestment of a valuable chunk of commercial real estate in greater Indianapolis, industry observers will closely be watching if Emmis will hit the $6 mark in the near future.
