Gannett Co. (NYSE:GCI) was downgraded by Zacks Investment Research from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a note issued to investors on Thursday.
According to Zacks, “Gannett owns the publishing assets of the legacy Gannett company following its June 2015 split into two publicly traded companies – a broadcasting and digital company called TEGNA (Ticker: TGNA) and a publishing company called Gannett. The new Gannett owns the USA Today and a host of other media assets. “
Several other brokerages have also recently commented on GCI. Noble Financial reissued a “buy” rating and set a $23.00 target price on shares of Gannett in a report on Monday, April 25th. Jefferies Group reissued a “hold” rating and set a $15.00 target price (down previously from $17.00) on shares of Gannett in a report on Monday, July 11th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company. The company has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $17.67.
Gannett (NYSE:GCI) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, July 27th. The company reported $0.30 EPS for the quarter, missing the Thomson Reuters’ consensus estimate of $0.31 by $0.01. The company earned $748.80 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $794.77 million. Gannett’s quarterly revenue was up 3.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $0.46 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Gannett will post $1.48 earnings per share for the current year.
The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 19th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, September 6th will be given a $0.16 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, September 1st. This represents a $0.64 annualized dividend and a yield of 5.02%.
A number of hedge funds and institutional investors have bought and sold shares of GCI. Strs Ohio acquired a new position in Gannett during the second quarter valued at about $1,042,000. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System raised its position in Gannett by 0.6% in the second quarter. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System now owns 51,650 shares of the company’s stock valued at $713,000 after buying an additional 300 shares during the period. Bank of Montreal Can purchased a new position in Gannett during the second quarter valued at $2,461,000. Parkwood LLC purchased a new position in Gannett during the second quarter valued at $188,000. Finally, Nisa Investment Advisors LLC boosted its position in Gannett by 31.6% in the second quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC now owns 66,150 shares of the company’s stock valued at $914,000 after buying an additional 15,900 shares during the last quarter.
Gannett Co, Inc is an international, multi-platform news and information company. The Company is a local content provider in the United States, operating in over 30 states and Guam. Its operations comprise approximately 110 daily publications and digital platforms in the United States and the United Kingdom, over 400 non-daily publications in the United States, and approximately 150 such titles in the United Kingdom.
