Principal Financial Group Inc. Takes $1.47 Million Position in USA Today Co. $TDAY

Key Points

• Principal Financial Group acquired 208,241 USA Today shares worth approximately $1.47 million, representing about 0.14% of the company.
• Institutional ownership stands at 76.71%, with Two Seas Capital, Alta Fundamental Advisers, Goldman Sachs and others also establishing or increasing positions.
• USA Today reported quarterly EPS of $0.09, exceeding the $0.08 loss analysts expected, though revenue declined 4% year over year to $548.5 million. Analysts’ consensus rating is “Moderate Buy” with a $9.03 price target.

Principal Financial Group Inc. purchased a new position in USA Today Co. (NYSE:TDAY - Free Report) in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund purchased 208,241 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,468,000. Principal Financial Group Inc. owned approximately 0.14% of USA Today at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in TDAY. Two Seas Capital LP purchased a new position in USA Today in the 4th quarter worth $74,946,000. Alta Fundamental Advisers LLC bought a new stake in shares of USA Today in the 4th quarter valued at about $58,346,000. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its holdings in USA Today by 2.0% during the 3rd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 8,536,026 shares of the company's stock valued at $35,254,000 after acquiring an additional 164,690 shares during the period. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. purchased a new stake in USA Today during the 4th quarter valued at about $28,383,000. Finally, SG Americas Securities LLC bought a new stake in USA Today in the first quarter valued at approximately $35,972,000. 76.71% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

USA Today Stock Down 0.9%

NYSE TDAY opened at $8.73 on Friday. USA Today Co. has a 52 week low of $3.42 and a 52 week high of $9.01. The company has a quick ratio of 0.77, a current ratio of 0.79 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 6.33. The company has a market capitalization of $1.28 billion, a P/E ratio of 145.52 and a beta of 1.40. The stock's 50-day moving average price is $8.22 and its 200-day moving average price is $7.17.

USA Today (NYSE:TDAY - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 30th. The company reported $0.09 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of ($0.08) by $0.17. USA Today had a return on equity of 21.75% and a net margin of 1.27%.The company had revenue of $548.49 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $562.00 million. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted ($0.05) EPS. The firm's revenue was down 4.0 on a year-over-year basis.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

TDAY has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Citigroup reissued an "outperform" rating on shares of USA Today in a research note on Tuesday, July 14th. Citizens Jmp lifted their price target on shares of USA Today from $8.00 to $10.00 and gave the company a "market outperform" rating in a report on Tuesday, July 14th. Rosenblatt Securities restated a "buy" rating and issued a $10.00 target price on shares of USA Today in a research note on Thursday, June 4th. Weiss Ratings cut USA Today from a "hold (c)" rating to a "sell (d+)" rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 6th. Finally, New Street Research set a $8.05 target price on USA Today in a report on Friday, June 5th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $9.03.

About USA Today

Gannett Co, Inc NYSE: GCI is a media and marketing solutions company headquartered in McLean, Virginia. As the largest U.S. newspaper publisher by circulation, Gannett publishes USA Today alongside more than 260 local news brands. The company’s multimedia platforms include daily and weekly newspapers, websites, mobile apps and a network of subscription-based digital products.

In addition to journalism and content production, Gannett offers a suite of digital marketing services designed to help small and medium-sized businesses grow online.

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