Lee Enterprises (NYSE:LEE) Rating Lowered to Buy at StockNews.com

StockNews.com downgraded shares of Lee Enterprises (NYSE:LEE) from a strong-buy rating to a buy rating in a research report sent to investors on Friday morning.

Lee Enterprises Price Performance

Shares of LEE opened at $8.91 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 0.94, a quick ratio of 0.88 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 43.53. Lee Enterprises has a 1 year low of $7.56 and a 1 year high of $15.89. The stock has a market cap of $54.70 million, a P/E ratio of -4.43 and a beta of 1.25. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $11.38 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $11.52.

Lee Enterprises (NYSE:LEE) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, August 1st. The company reported ($0.73) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.68 by ($1.41). Lee Enterprises had a negative return on equity of 94.51% and a negative net margin of 2.88%. The company had revenue of $150.58 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $165.48 million. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $0.25 EPS. On average, equities analysts predict that Lee Enterprises will post -1.06 earnings per share for the current year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Lee Enterprises

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. Corsair Capital Management L.P. acquired a new position in shares of Lee Enterprises in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $128,000. Gabelli Funds LLC grew its position in shares of Lee Enterprises by 25.0% in the 4th quarter. Gabelli Funds LLC now owns 57,500 shares of the company’s stock valued at $453,000 after purchasing an additional 11,500 shares during the period. Wittenberg Investment Management Inc. grew its position 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 valued at $962,000 after purchasing an additional 9,215 shares during the period. Finally, Gamco Investors INC. ET AL grew its position in shares of Lee Enterprises by 94.8% in the 1st quarter. Gamco Investors INC. ET AL now owns 149,150 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,988,000 after purchasing an additional 72,600 shares during the period. 39.20% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About Lee Enterprises

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.