StockNews.com Begins Coverage on Lee Enterprises (NYSE:LEE)

Equities research analysts at StockNews.com started coverage on shares of Lee Enterprises (NYSE:LEE) in a research note issued on Saturday. The brokerage set a “buy” rating on the stock.

Lee Enterprises Stock Performance

Shares of Lee Enterprises stock opened at $8.78 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $53.94 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -4.37 and a beta of 1.22. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $8.88 and its 200-day simple moving average is $11.08. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 69.34, a current ratio of 0.92 and a quick ratio of 0.87. Lee Enterprises has a 12 month low of $7.56 and a 12 month high of $15.89.

Lee Enterprises (NYSE:LEE) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, August 1st. The company reported ($0.73) EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.68 by ($1.41). Lee Enterprises had a negative net margin of 2.88% and a negative return on equity of 112.98%. The business had revenue of $150.58 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $165.48 million. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $0.25 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Lee Enterprises will post -2.02 earnings per share for the current year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Corsair Capital Management L.P. acquired a new stake in shares of Lee Enterprises during the fourth quarter worth $128,000. Gabelli Funds LLC raised its position in Lee Enterprises by 25.0% during the 4th quarter. Gabelli Funds LLC now owns 57,500 shares of the company’s stock worth $453,000 after buying an additional 11,500 shares during the last quarter. Wittenberg Investment Management Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Lee Enterprises by 8.2% in the 4th quarter. Wittenberg Investment Management Inc. now owns 122,195 shares of the company’s stock worth $962,000 after acquiring an additional 9,215 shares during the period. Finally, Gamco Investors INC. ET AL boosted its holdings in shares of Lee Enterprises by 94.8% in the first quarter. Gamco Investors INC. ET AL now owns 149,150 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,988,000 after acquiring an additional 72,600 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 39.20% of the company’s stock.

Lee Enterprises Company Profile

Lee Enterprises, Incorporated provides local news and information, and advertising services in the United States. The company offers digital subscription platforms; daily, weekly, and monthly newspapers and niche publications; and web hosting and content management services. It also provides advertising and marketing services, such as audience extension, search engine optimization, search engine marketing, web and mobile production, social media services, and reputation monitoring and management.