Estimated read time: 1-2 minutes
This archived news story is available only for your personal, non-commercial use. Information in the story may be outdated or superseded by additional information. Reading or replaying the story in its archived form does not constitute a republication of the story.
NEW YORK (AFX) - Shares of newspaper publisher Gannett Co. declined Tuesday, a day after the McLean, Va.-based company reported its August revenue climbed less than 1 percent.
The company's stock was down $1.13, or 2 percent, to $54.90 in heavy afternoon trading on the New York Stock Exchange, recovering slightly from its intraday low of $54.09. Shares have traded between $51.65 and $75 in the past 52 weeks.
On Monday, Gannett, which publishes 90 daily papers including USA Today, said its revenue for August hit $585.7 million, up slightly from $582.7 million in the same month last year.
Prudential Equity Group analyst Steven N. Barlow did not change his third- or fourth-quarter earnings estimates and kept his price target at $71, but said in a Monday client note that there are some newspaper concerns.
"Trends at USA Today, in particular, have been inconsistent and the outlook in the United Kingdom has not improved," Barlow said.
He also noted Gannett's television businesses are struggling, due to NBC's less-than-stellar prime time ratings performance and weak auto advertising. About half of Gannett's 23 stations are NBC affiliates.
Retail advertising is also being squeezed by the department store category, Barlow said.
Analyst Craig A. Huber of Lehman Brothers kept his "Underweight" rating and reaffirmed a $48 price target, but reduced his fourth-quarter earnings estimate by 2 cents to $1.43 per share. He also lowered his full-year earnings per share estimate from $4.83 to $4.81.
"As we look out over the next 18 months, we remain concerned that our Street-low estimates are too high, especially if the economy slows," Huber said in a client note. Copyright 2006 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be
Copyright 2006 AFX News Limited. All Rights Reserved.
