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

StockNews.com initiated coverage on shares of Lee Enterprises (NYSE:LEE) in a research report report published on Saturday morning. The firm issued a buy rating on the stock.

Lee Enterprises Price Performance

Shares of NYSE LEE opened at $8.71 on Friday. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $8.88 and a 200-day simple moving average of $11.09. The stock has a market capitalization of $53.51 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -4.39 and a beta of 1.22. The company has a quick ratio of 0.87, a current ratio of 0.92 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 69.34. Lee Enterprises has a 52 week low of $7.56 and a 52 week high of $15.89.

Lee Enterprises (NYSE:LEE) last issued 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 analyst estimates of $165.48 million. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $0.25 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts predict that Lee Enterprises will post -2.02 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Lee Enterprises

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Corsair Capital Management L.P. acquired a new stake in Lee Enterprises during the fourth quarter worth about $128,000. Gabelli Funds LLC increased its position in Lee Enterprises by 25.0% during the fourth quarter. Gabelli Funds LLC now owns 57,500 shares of the company’s stock worth $453,000 after purchasing an additional 11,500 shares during the last quarter. Wittenberg Investment Management Inc. increased its position in Lee Enterprises by 8.2% during the fourth quarter. Wittenberg Investment Management Inc. now owns 122,195 shares of the company’s stock worth $962,000 after purchasing an additional 9,215 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Gamco Investors INC. ET AL boosted its stake in Lee Enterprises by 94.8% during the first quarter. Gamco Investors INC. ET AL now owns 149,150 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,988,000 after buying an additional 72,600 shares during the period. 39.20% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.