Lee Enterprises (NYSE:LEE) Shares Pass Above Two Hundred Day Moving Average – Time to Sell?

Lee Enterprises, Incorporated (NYSE:LEE) shares passed above its 200-day moving average during trading on Friday . The stock has a 200-day moving average of $7.31 and traded as high as $9.41. Lee Enterprises shares last traded at $9.35, with a volume of 49,015 shares trading hands.

Lee Enterprises Trading Up 0.8%

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 69.34, a current ratio of 0.78 and a quick ratio of 0.72. The company has a market cap of $207.85 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -1.28 and a beta of 0.31. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $9.14 and a 200 day simple moving average of $7.31.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director David Henry Hoffmann acquired 18,200 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, June 4th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $11.08 per share, with a total value of $201,656.00. Following the acquisition, the director directly owned 11,492,117 shares in the company, valued at $127,332,656.36. The trade was a 0.16% increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, Director Herbert W. Moloney III sold 24,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, June 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $9.82, for a total transaction of $235,680.00. Following the sale, the director directly owned 23,037 shares in the company, valued at approximately $226,223.34. This represents a 51.02% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. In the last quarter, insiders have purchased 94,225 shares of company stock worth $898,978. 54.20% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several large investors have recently bought and sold shares of LEE. Private Advisor Group LLC bought a new position in Lee Enterprises in the first quarter valued at approximately $430,000. DRW Securities LLC acquired a new position in shares of Lee Enterprises in the 4th quarter valued at $99,000. Gamco Investors INC. ET AL lifted its stake in shares of Lee Enterprises by 23.8% in the 4th quarter. Gamco Investors INC. ET AL now owns 601,454 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,881,000 after purchasing an additional 115,779 shares during the period. Teton Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of Lee Enterprises by 13.3% in the 4th quarter. Teton Advisors LLC now owns 17,000 shares of the company’s stock worth $81,000 after purchasing an additional 2,000 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Gabelli Funds LLC boosted its position in shares of Lee Enterprises by 9.5% in the 4th quarter. Gabelli Funds LLC now owns 226,800 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,086,000 after purchasing an additional 19,700 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 39.20% of the company’s stock.

About Lee Enterprises

Lee Enterprises, Inc is a publicly traded media company based in Davenport, Iowa, with a heritage dating back to 1890 when Alfred W. Lee acquired the Davenport Times-Democrat. Over the decades, the company has grown through acquisitions and organic expansion to become one of the largest regional news publishers in the United States. Lee Enterprises’ shares trade on the New York Stock Exchange under the ticker symbol LEE.

The company’s principal activities center on the production and distribution of local journalism across print and digital channels.