Gannett (NYSE:GCI) Upgraded to Strong-Buy by JMP Securities

JMP Securities upgraded shares of Gannett (NYSE:GCI) to a strong-buy rating in a research report report published on Friday morning, Zacks.com reports.

Separately, Citigroup raised Gannett from a sell rating to a neutral rating and boosted their target price for the company from $1.95 to $3.60 in a research note on Friday, May 24th.

Gannett Price Performance

Gannett stock traded up $0.37 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $4.41. 1,888,815 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,047,945. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $4.48 and a 200-day moving average price of $3.20. The stock has a market cap of $649.96 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -5.01 and a beta of 2.50. Gannett has a one year low of $1.66 and a one year high of $5.05. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.83, a quick ratio of 0.75 and a current ratio of 0.79.

Gannett (NYSE:GCI) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 1st. The company reported $0.19 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of ($0.06) by $0.25. The firm had revenue of $639.84 million for the quarter. Gannett had a negative return on equity of 17.12% and a negative net margin of 3.71%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Gannett

Large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Apollo Management Holdings L.P. increased its stake in shares of Gannett by 6.1% during the first quarter. Apollo Management Holdings L.P. now owns 12,292,642 shares of the company’s stock valued at $29,994,000 after buying an additional 703,617 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its holdings in Gannett by 1.2% in the third quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 8,462,750 shares of the company’s stock valued at $20,734,000 after acquiring an additional 100,837 shares in the last quarter. GSA Capital Partners LLP boosted its holdings in Gannett by 103.2% in the fourth quarter. GSA Capital Partners LLP now owns 1,096,933 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,523,000 after acquiring an additional 557,079 shares in the last quarter. Empowered Funds LLC increased its position in Gannett by 8.2% during the 1st quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 781,628 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,907,000 after purchasing an additional 59,243 shares during the period. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp raised its holdings in Gannett by 5.8% in the 2nd quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 740,115 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,412,000 after purchasing an additional 40,481 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 76.71% of the company’s stock.

Gannett Company Profile

Gannett Co, Inc operates as a media and marketing solutions company in the United States. It operates through three segments: Domestic Gannett Media, Newsquest, and Digital Marketing Solutions. The company's print offerings includes home delivery on a subscription basis; single copy; non-daily publications, such as shoppers and niche publications.