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Anyone researching SEACOR Marine Holdings Inc. (NYSE:SMHI) might want to consider the historical volatility of the share price. Modern finance theory considers volatility to be a measure of risk, and there are two main types of price volatility. First, we have company specific volatility, which is the price gyrations of an individual stock. Holding at least 8 stocks can reduce this kind of risk across a portfolio. The second type is the broader market volatility, which you cannot diversify away, since it arises from macroeconomic factors which directly affects all the stocks on the market.

Some stocks mimic the volatility of the market quite closely, while others demonstrate muted, exagerrated or uncorrelated price movements. Beta is a widely used metric to measure a stock's exposure to market risk (volatility). Before we go on, it's worth noting that Warren Buffett pointed out in his 2014 letter to shareholders that 'volatility is far from synonymous with risk.' Having said that, beta can still be rather useful. The first thing to understand about beta is that the beta of the overall market is one. Any stock with a beta of greater than one is considered more volatile than the market, while those with a beta below one are either less volatile or poorly correlated with the market.

See our latest analysis for SEACOR Marine Holdings

What does SMHI's beta value mean to investors?

Given that it has a beta of 1.49, we can surmise that the SEACOR Marine Holdings share price has been fairly sensitive to market volatility (over the last 5 years). Based on this history, investors should be aware that SEACOR Marine Holdings are likely to rise strongly in times of greed, but sell off in times of fear. Beta is worth considering, but it's also important to consider whether SEACOR Marine Holdings is growing earnings and revenue. You can take a look for yourself, below.

Does SMHI's size influence the expected beta?

SEACOR Marine Holdings is a rather small company. It has a market capitalisation of US$293m, which means it is probably under the radar of most investors. Relatively few investors can influence the price of a smaller company, compared to a large company. This could explain the high beta value, in this case.

What this means for you:

Beta only tells us that the SEACOR Marine Holdings share price is sensitive to broader market movements. This could indicate that it is a high growth company, or is heavily influenced by sentiment because it is speculative. Alternatively, it could have operating leverage in its business model. Ultimately, beta is an interesting metric, but there's plenty more to learn. In order to fully understand whether SMHI is a good investment for you, we also need to consider important company-specific fundamentals such as SEACOR Marine Holdings’s financial health and performance track record. I urge you to continue your research by taking a look at the following:

1. Future Outlook: What are well-informed industry analysts predicting for SMHI’s future growth? Take a look at our free research report of analyst consensus for SMHI’s outlook.

2. Past Track Record: Has SMHI been consistently performing well irrespective of the ups and downs in the market? Go into more detail in the past performance analysis and take a look at the free visual representations of SMHI's historicals for more clarity.

3. Other Interesting Stocks: It's worth checking to see how SMHI measures up against other companies on valuation. You could start with this free list of prospective options.

We aim to bring you long-term focused research analysis driven by fundamental data. Note that our analysis may not factor in the latest price-sensitive company announcements or qualitative material.

If you spot an error that warrants correction, please contact the editor at editorial-team@simplywallst.com. This article by Simply Wall St is general in nature. It does not constitute a recommendation to buy or sell any stock, and does not take account of your objectives, or your financial situation. Simply Wall St has no position in the stocks mentioned. Thank you for reading.