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

Lee Enterprises (NYSE:LEE) was upgraded by stock analysts at StockNews.com from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report issued on Friday.

Lee Enterprises Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:LEE opened at $12.25 on Friday. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $12.15 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $10.41. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 20.47, a current ratio of 0.94 and a quick ratio of 0.87. Lee Enterprises has a one year low of $7.56 and a one year high of $15.89.

Lee Enterprises (NYSE:LEE) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 1st. The company reported $0.12 earnings per share for the quarter. The firm had revenue of $155.68 million for the quarter. Lee Enterprises had a negative net margin of 1.88% and a negative return on equity of 59.37%.

Insider Activity

In related news, major shareholder Digital Ltd Quint acquired 46,500 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 18th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $12.92 per share, for a total transaction of $600,780.00. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 704,000 shares in the company, valued at approximately $9,095,680. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. In the last quarter, insiders have purchased 85,599 shares of company stock worth $1,177,335. 11.40% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Lee Enterprises

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Gabelli Funds LLC raised its position in Lee Enterprises by 8.2% in the 3rd quarter. Gabelli Funds LLC now owns 46,000 shares of the company’s stock worth $493,000 after purchasing an additional 3,500 shares during the period. Teton Advisors Inc. raised its position in Lee Enterprises by 27.7% in the 3rd quarter. Teton Advisors Inc. now owns 30,000 shares of the company’s stock worth $321,000 after purchasing an additional 6,500 shares during the period. Wittenberg Investment Management Inc. raised its position in 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 purchasing an additional 9,215 shares during the period. Gamco Investors INC. ET AL raised its position in Lee Enterprises by 17.8% in the 3rd quarter. Gamco Investors INC. ET AL now owns 73,950 shares of the company’s stock worth $792,000 after purchasing an additional 11,200 shares during the period. Finally, Corsair Capital Management L.P. purchased a new position in Lee Enterprises in the 4th quarter worth $128,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 39.20% of the company’s stock.

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.