Times Parent Company Now a Penny Stock!

Guest

Not too surprising

http://moneycentral.msn.com/detail/stock_quote?Symbol=lee

as of yesterday's close $0.30 down $0.05 -14.29%.

Of note it paid dividends 5/26 $.38 and 8/25 $.19. I wonder what dividends it will pay for owners of record next month? Question

So far it seems my previous predictions of it's imminent demise or a buyout are coming about a few months early given this trend. I highly doubt it will pay double it's 2009 stock price in dividends this year but I guess weirder things have happened.

I've not checked but it well could have stopped paying dividends already. But as someone mentioned elsewhere there's nobody left there to even report the news for minimum wage. Put a fork in it - she's done!

The irony is we never needed the defunct CalPress more than now. LOL

Posts : 1258

i was going to buy a copy of the times sunday and decided not to. instead, i read it online and used the buck fifty to buy stock in the parent company lee enterprizes. turns out, i now own 4% of the controlling interest of the newspaper. and by investing the cost of a subscription into a stock buy over the next 6 months...i will soon be the majority stockholder!

The Oracles return is imminant!

Posts : 1545

Mirage wrote:: Not too surprising

http://moneycentral.msn.com/detail/stock_quote?Symbol=lee

as of yesterday's close $0.30 down $0.05 -14.29%.

Of note it paid dividends 5/26 $.38 and 8/25 $.19. I wonder what dividends it will pay for owners of record next month?

So far it seems my previous predictions of it's imminent demise or a buyout are coming about a few months early given this trend. I highly doubt it will pay double it's 2009 stock price in dividends this year but I guess weirder things have happened.

I've not checked but it well could have stopped paying dividends already. But as someone mentioned elsewhere there's nobody left there to even report the news for minimum wage. Put a fork in it - she's done!

The irony is we never needed the defunct CalPress more than now. LOL

Lee did cancel their dividends some months ago. Also, for the record, LEE is not a penny stock (yet). Penny stocks are traded on the bulletin board, not the NYSE, and have a .pk or .ob attached to their symbol.

Guest

While you might technically be correct traditionally any stock under $1 can be termed a penny stock, and I believe in more recent years that definition has now been extended to stocks $10 & less. Regardless I don't think the exchange will allow it to remain much longer given it's present decline.

Posts : 3993

I'm waiting for GE. If that CEO steps down, that would be a good one.

Just talked to the bank guy. Said, "NO one should invest even in the banks right now."

Guest

Maybe that's why he's just a banker. LOL

It is a tricky time to buy stocks, to be sure. OTOH it is also an opportunity for the wise.

Posts : 1545

You are absolutely correct. Now is the time when "buy and hold" investors can accumulate shares in blue chip companies that would otherwise be out of reach. The trick is picking the right ones to buy.

Posts : 689

Robin Banks wrote:: You are absolutely correct. Now is the time when "buy and hold" investors can accumulate shares in blue chip companies that would otherwise be out of reach. The trick is picking the right ones to buy.

If I was still going to work for another 20-25 years, I'd be buying up GM and GE stock as fast as Obama can print the money. These are bargains, and two companies that will still be around 50 years from now.

Guest

I would avoid GM just because a bankruptcy for reorganization would wipe you out. Better off with a McDonalds or the like that you KNOW will survive no matter what.

Posts : 1545

I agree about GE. It is so diversified that it should come out of the recession ok.

Guest

I would urge caution with GE. Besides my own concerns you might like to see this clip.

http://www.thestreet.com/_msnh/video/10468898/against-the-grain-sell-ge.html?cm_ven=MSNH&cm_cat=FREE&cm_ite=NA&s=1

Posts : 9728

Watch this entire video and you'll think twice before ever taking any of these gasbags seriously...

Guest

I think that advice mainly applies to CNBC and it's sister company commentators. Wink

Guest

the oracle wrote:: i was going to buy a copy of the times sunday and decided not to. instead, i read it online and used the buck fifty to buy stock in the parent company lee enterprizes. turns out, i now own 4% of the controlling interest of the newspaper. and by investing the cost of a subscription into a stock buy over the next 6 months...i will soon be the majority stockholder!

The Oracles return is imminant!

With outstanding shares of 44.93 Mil even at a mere Washington quarter a share it would take some doing to get your 4% controlling interest. LOL

OTOH what does that come to? $440,000? if I counted my zeros right. So definitely in the ballpark for local media moguls like Dedlow but still quite a few subscriptions for the rest of us.

Put another way, if nobody wants the whole darned company (not just the local paper) for less than a half $mil who in their right mind would even want it aside from maybe the Tribune or SunTimes to add to their distribution network?

Posts : 9728

Mirage wrote:: I think that advice mainly applies to CNBC and it's sister company commentators.

Stewart also probably could have used Fox Business channel as an example,but nobody ever watches it. Razz

Posts : 1545

Mirage wrote:

the oracle wrote:: i was going to buy a copy of the times sunday and decided not to. instead, i read it online and used the buck fifty to buy stock in the parent company lee enterprizes. turns out, i now own 4% of the controlling interest of the newspaper. and by investing the cost of a subscription into a stock buy over the next 6 months...i will soon be the majority stockholder!

The Oracles return is imminant!

With outstanding shares of 44.93 Mil even at a mere Washington quarter a share it would take some doing to get your 4% controlling interest. LOL

OTOH what does that come to? $440,000? if I counted my zeros right. So definitely in the ballpark for local media moguls like Dedlow but still quite a few subscriptions for the rest of us.

Put another way, if nobody wants the whole darned company (not just the local paper) for less than a half $mil who in their right mind would even want it aside from maybe the Tribune or SunTimes to add to their distribution network?

The Sun-Times actually is a penny stock and is traded on pink slips.

Guest

Artie60438 wrote:

Mirage wrote:: I think that advice mainly applies to CNBC and it's sister company commentators.

Stewart also probably could have used Fox Business channel as an example,but nobody ever watches it. Razz

Dunno why you keep knocking them. Unlike CNBC their commentators at least know what they're talking about most of the time. Smile

Guest

The Sun-Times actually is a penny stock and is traded on pink slips.

I'm surprised it's still in business at all. Worst case I suppose is if the Tribune, SunTimes, and Lee merged only to then run out of money within a year from trying to finance the merger. OTOH I wonder if anybody would even notice they all vanished?

Posts : 1545

Actually if you look at LEE their cash flow is quite strong. Their problem is debt they acquired from the purchase of the Pulitzer group. But, even in the current economic climate they have been able to refinance their debt and make large payments, so despite their stock price they are a pretty sound company.

I wouldn't bet the farm on them but maybe a couple of acres....

Guest

wab
gwr

'nough said

Guest

Robin Banks wrote:: Actually if you look at LEE their cash flow is quite strong. Their problem is debt they acquired from the purchase of the Pulitzer group. But, even in the current economic climate they have been able to refinance their debt and make large payments, so despite their stock price they are a pretty sound company.

I wouldn't bet the farm on them but maybe a couple of acres....

I understand the logic there but just a quick look at the MSN quote page, Return on Equity -159.53 and P/E -0.01, tells me that probably only a merger will save the assets or at least make better use of them.

Posts : 1545

It's hard to find a merger that would not result in increased debt, though. If I were running LEE I would stand pat and continue to pay off debt via cash flow. No need to buy problems right now; there will be opportunities in the future. That's my opinion.

Guest

The opportunities are now. Print publishing is dying out. And yes I know people have said it for years. I really don't see Lee being in business as is more than a year. If I'm wrong, fine.

That said, if someone were inclined to own a media company for whatever reason there is a window of opportunity. As we see from the NWI Times whatever income from publishing they have actually is on shaky ground. And thanks to the internet even the Sunday ads & classifieds aren't as strong of a sell as it once was. The St. Petersburg Times even puts many of their help wanted spots online instead of the paper.

I don't know how many national magazines I have been given free subscriptions to, some hardly without even asking, just to keep the ad revenue coming in. Print media is dying so if there's not something of value to read you can barely give it away anymore.

Guest

Speaking of stocks I thought someone might enjoy this:

http://articles.moneycentral.msn.com/learn-how-to-invest/whats-a-pe-and-9-other-dumb-questions.aspx

Posts : 9728

Mirage wrote:: The opportunities are now. Print publishing is dying out. And yes I know people have said it for years. I really don't see Lee being in business as is more than a year. If I'm wrong, fine.

As long as they keep giving their content away for free via the internet they're going to continue to lose subscribers. I came very close to giving up my subscription @ 98.80 for a year. I called them and they gave me a rate of 7.00 a month instead,charged on my CC.