Lee Enterprises (LEE) Stock Price, News & Analysis

Company Overview

Lee Enterprises, Inc. is a leading regional news media company headquartered in Davenport, Iowa. Established in 1890, the company has built a legacy of delivering community-focused journalism through its portfolio of daily newspapers and digital platforms. Over its history, Lee Enterprises has evolved its offerings to address the changing needs of news consumers while maintaining a commitment to local coverage.

Today, Lee Enterprises publishes more than 70 daily newspapers and over 350 weekly and specialty publications across 26 states. Its major publications include flagship titles such as The Omaha World-Herald, The Buffalo News, and the St. Paul Pioneer Press, along with a wide network of smaller market newspapers. The company’s reach extends to print editions, websites, mobile apps, email newsletters, and social media channels.

Beyond traditional journalism, Lee Enterprises offers a suite of digital marketing and advertising services designed to help businesses engage with local audiences. These services include custom content creation, digital display and video advertising, search engine marketing, social media management, and audience analytics. Through investments in technology platforms and partnerships, the company continues to expand its digital footprint and monetization capabilities.

Under the leadership of President and Chief Executive Officer Mary Junck, Lee Enterprises emphasizes operational efficiency, editorial innovation, and community engagement. The company’s executive team brings extensive experience in media management, digital strategy and local news operations. As Lee Enterprises navigates an evolving media landscape, it remains focused on sustaining quality journalism and delivering value to readers, advertisers and shareholders.

Key Stats

• Today's Range: $6.66 to $7.76
• 50-Day Range: $6.07 to $7.50
• 52-Week Range: $5.83 to $19.63
• Volume: 63,578 shs
• Average Volume: 26,908 shs
• Market Capitalization: $43.29 million
• P/E Ratio: N/A
• Dividend Yield: N/A
• Price Target: N/A
• Consensus Rating: N/A

Lee Enterprises Stock Analysis - MarketRank™

Lee Enterprises scored higher than 17% of companies evaluated by MarketBeat, and ranked 141st out of 152 stocks in the consumer staples sector. Scores are calculated by averaging available category scores, with extra weight given to analysis and valuation.

Analyst's Opinion

• Score: N/A
• Analyst Rating: N/A

Consensus Rating

There is not enough analysis data for Lee Enterprises.

Earnings and Valuation

• Score: 0.6 / 5
• Proj. Earnings Growth: Growing

Earnings Growth

Earnings for Lee Enterprises are expected to grow in the coming year, from ($3.58) to ($1.73) per share.

Price to Earnings Ratio vs. the Market

The P/E ratio of Lee Enterprises is -0.96, which means that its earnings are negative and its P/E ratio cannot be compared to companies with positive earnings.

Price to Earnings Ratio vs. Sector

The P/E ratio of Lee Enterprises is -0.96, which means that its earnings are negative and its P/E ratio cannot be compared to companies with positive earnings.

Short Interest

• Score: 5.0 / 5
• Short Interest Level: Healthy

Percentage of Shares Shorted

1.62% of the float of Lee Enterprises has been sold short.

Short Interest Ratio / Days to Cover

Lee Enterprises has a short interest ratio ("days to cover") of 3.2, which is generally considered an acceptable ratio of short interest to trading volume.

Change versus previous month

Short interest in Lee Enterprises has recently decreased by 14.04%, indicating that investor sentiment is improving significantly.

Dividend

• Score: 0.0 / 5
• Dividend Strength: N/A

Dividend Yield

Lee Enterprises does not currently pay a dividend.

Dividend Growth

Lee Enterprises does not have a long track record of dividend growth.

Sustainability and ESG

• Score: N/A
• Environmental Score: N/A

Percentage of Shares Shorted

1.62% of the float of Lee Enterprises has been sold short.

Short Interest Ratio / Days to Cover

Lee Enterprises has a short interest ratio ("days to cover") of 3.2, which is generally considered an acceptable ratio of short interest to trading volume.

Change versus previous month

Short interest in Lee Enterprises has recently decreased by 14.04%, indicating that investor sentiment is improving significantly.

News and Social Media

• Score: 1.8 / 5
• News Sentiment: 0.30

News Sentiment

Lee Enterprises has a news sentiment score of 0.30. This score is calculated as an average of sentiment of articles about the company over the last seven days and ranges from 2 (good news) to -2 (bad news). This is a lower news sentiment than the 0.81 average news sentiment score of Consumer Staples companies.

News Coverage This Week

MarketBeat has tracked 4 news articles for Lee Enterprises this week, compared to 3 articles on an average week.

Search Interest

Only 1 people have searched for LEE on MarketBeat in the last 30 days. This is a decrease of -80% compared to the previous 30 days.

Company Ownership

• Score: 0.0 / 5
• Insider Trading: N/A

Insider Buying vs. Insider Selling

In the past three months, Lee Enterprises insiders have not sold or bought any company stock.

Percentage Held by Insiders

Only 9.80% of the stock of Lee Enterprises is held by insiders.

Percentage Held by Institutions

Only 39.20% of the stock of Lee Enterprises is held by institutions.

LEE Stock Analysis - Frequently Asked Questions

How have LEE shares performed this year?

Lee Enterprises' stock was trading at $14.78 on January 1st, 2025. Since then, LEE shares have decreased by 52.9% and is now trading at $6.96.

How were Lee Enterprises' earnings last quarter?

Lee Enterprises, Incorporated (NYSE:LEE) posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August, 1st. The company reported ($0.73) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.68 by $1.41. The firm had revenue of $150.58 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $165.48 million. Lee Enterprises had a negative trailing twelve-month return on equity of 325.44% and a negative net margin of 7.21%.

When did Lee Enterprises' stock split?

Shares of Lee Enterprises reverse split on Monday, March 15th 2021.The 1-10 reverse split was announced on Monday, March 1st 2021. The number of shares owned by shareholders was adjusted after the closing bell on Friday, March 12th 2021. An investor that had 100 shares of stock prior to the reverse split would have 10 shares after the split.

How do I buy shares of Lee Enterprises?

Shares of LEE stock can be purchased through any online brokerage account. Popular online brokerages with access to the U.S. stock market include Charles Schwab, E*TRADE, Fidelity, and Vanguard Brokerage Services.

What other stocks do shareholders of Lee Enterprises own?

Based on aggregate information from My MarketBeat watchlists, some other companies that Lee Enterprises investors own include Ashford Hospitality Trust (AHT), Assertio (ASRT), Peabody Energy (BTU), Simon Property Group (SPG), Gilead Sciences (GILD), JinkoSolar (JKS) and Kosmos Energy (KOS).

Company Calendar

• Last Earnings: 8/01/2024
• Today: 7/18/2025
• Fiscal Year End: 9/30/2025

Industry, Sector and Symbol

• Stock Exchange: NYSE
• Sector: Consumer Staples
• Industry: Newspapers
• Sub-Industry: Printing And Publishing
• Current Symbol: NYSE:LEE
• CIK: 58361
• Web: www.lee.net
• Phone: (563) 383-2100
• Fax: 563-323-9608
• Employees: 4,360
• Year Founded: 1890

Profitability

• EPS (Trailing Twelve Months): ($7.29)
• Trailing P/E Ratio: N/A
• Forward P/E Ratio: N/A
• P/E Growth: N/A
• Net Income: -$25.84 million
• Net Margins: -7.21%
• Pretax Margin: -7.60%
• Return on Equity: -325.44%
• Return on Assets: -6.55%

Debt

• Debt-to-Equity Ratio: 69.34
• Current Ratio: 0.78
• Quick Ratio: 0.72

Sales & Book Value

• Annual Sales: $591.09 million
• Price / Sales: 0.07
• Cash Flow: $0.18 per share
• Price / Cash Flow: 38.52
• Book Value: ($3.91) per share
• Price / Book: -1.77

Miscellaneous

• Outstanding Shares: 6,220,000
• Free Float: 5,584,000
• Market Cap: $42.96 million
• Optionable: Not Optionable
• Beta: 0.77