Lee Enterprises (NYSE:LEE) Share Price Passes Above 200-Day Moving Average – Should You Sell?

Lee Enterprises, Incorporated (NYSE:LEE)’s share price passed above its 200-day moving average during trading on Thursday . The stock has a 200-day moving average of $8.10 and traded as high as $8.13. Lee Enterprises shares last traded at $7.60, with a volume of 38,539 shares.

Lee Enterprises Stock Down 1.7%

The company has a market cap of $166.06 million, a PE ratio of -1.03 and a beta of 0.34. The company has a fifty day moving average of $9.22 and a two-hundred day moving average of $8.09. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 69.34, a quick ratio of 0.72 and a current ratio of 0.78.

Insider Buying and Selling at Lee Enterprises

In other news, Director David Henry Hoffmann purchased 6,925 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, June 8th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $10.86 per share, for a total transaction of $75,205.50. Following the acquisition, the director owned 11,517,242 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $125,077,248.12. This trade represents a 0.06% increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at 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 completion of the sale, the director directly owned 23,037 shares in the company, valued at $226,223.34. This trade represents a 51.02% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. In the last three months, insiders bought 94,225 shares of company stock worth $898,978. Insiders own 54.20% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Private Advisor Group LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Lee Enterprises in the first quarter worth approximately $430,000. DRW Securities LLC bought a new position in Lee Enterprises in the 4th quarter valued at $99,000. Gamco Investors INC. ET AL increased its stake in Lee Enterprises by 23.8% in the fourth quarter. Gamco Investors INC. ET AL now owns 601,454 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,881,000 after purchasing an additional 115,779 shares during the period. Teton Advisors LLC increased its stake in Lee Enterprises by 13.3% in the fourth 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 period. Finally, Gabelli Funds LLC lifted its position in shares of Lee Enterprises by 9.5% during the fourth 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. Hedge funds and other institutional investors 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.