Posted on 06/09/2006 2:22:21 PM PDT by abb
N.Y. Times Shares Decline on Downgrade Friday June 9, 5:05 pm ET New York Times Shares Fall 1.6 Percent Following Analyst Downgrade
NEW YORK (AP) -- Shares of The New York Times Co. fell Friday after an analyst at Goldman Sachs downgraded the stock to "underperform."
Shares of the company, which also owns The Boston Globe and The International Herald Tribune, fell 38 cents, or 1.6 percent, to close at $23.66 Friday on the New York Stock Exchange, after falling to a 52-week low of $23.13 earlier in the session.
Peter Appert, a newspaper industry analyst at Goldman Sachs, downgraded the shares of both the Times and Dow Jones & Co., publisher of The Wall Street Journal. Dow Jones shares didn't react as much, slipping 12 cents to $33.76.
Appert said in his note that while he believed both companies were well-managed, they ranked at the lower end of his industry valuation model. Also, he noted that since both companies are family-controlled through special share classes, they would not benefit from any pressure in the industry to consolidate.
The newspaper industry is already undergoing consolidation as McClatchy Co. buys most of Knight Ridder Inc., which was forced to put itself up for sale by disgruntled investors. Speculation is also mounting that Tribune Co. may have to undertake a restructuring to satisfy its investors.
Even though the Times is family controlled, it has also faced investor unrest recently. Last month Morgan Stanley said it was withholding its votes for the company's directors to protest the Times' dual-class share structure which allows the Sulzberger family to maintain control.
Shares of many newspaper companies have come under heavy pressure over the past 18 months or so as investors worry about circulation declines and the migration of readers and advertising dollars to the Internet.
Pinging with Friday Afternoon Good News!!
ain't it the truth :)
The newspaper that whales for Inheritance Tax while setting up tax shelters to control the Times without paying its fair share
Instead, the whole show is run by a blithering left-wing idiot. 
Thanks, ABB! A reason for a cold one when I get home! Well, that and the fact that it's a Friday!
U.S. newspapers face more trouble in 2006 - analyst Fri Jun 9, 2006 12:58 PM ET
NEW YORK, June 9 (Reuters) - The U.S. newspaper industry is likely to face a "somber" second half of the year, with circulation and advertising revenue remaining under pressure, according to an analyst's report released on Friday.
The report casts doubt on any hopes of a major recovery for an industry that has seen share prices fall by 15 percent in the last 12 months amid declining readership and a migration of advertising dollars to the Internet.
"The environment will get harder for newspapers before it gets better," according to Deutsche Bank analyst Paul Ginocchio. "And we're not sure when it is going to get better."
Ginocchio wrote that advertising trends are likely to weaken in the second half of the year, saying there are "few positive catalysts."
Ginocchio predicted that retail advertising, a key category for newspapers, will likely be hurt by a shift away from newspaper advertising by Federated Department Stores Inc. , which is closing a number of stores and is expected to put more of its marketing dollars into television and the Internet.
In addition, he said some of the strength seen in real estate advertising could ease, autos should remain weak and help wanted could slow with the economy.
With circulation also struggling, the report cited large market publishers, including Tribune Co. and New York Times Co. , as the ones most likely to have the "toughest time" in the second half of 2006.
Ginocchio has a "hold" rating on New York Times, shares of which were down nearly 3 percent at $23.33 in New York Stock Exchange trade.
Tribune, which recently proposed a $2 billion share buyback, has a "sell" rating at Deutsche Bank based on what Ginocchio said were "the weakest underlying trends in the group."
Shares of Tribune were up 2 percent at $32.25 on the NYSE.
Appert said in his note that while he believed both companies were well-managed, they ranked at the lower end of his industry valuation model.
Companies and mutual funds which are well managed do not fall into the bottom percentile.
Basic marketing 101 would say any company that po's about 50% of its customers and potential customers will not last long. The hatred of GW by the Slimes and the semi news part of the WSJ is destroying them as well as the internet.
"Why would anyone want to own shares in a company that have no voting rights? Instead, the whole show is run by a blithering left-wing idiot."
Typical Fascism of the corporations controlled by the elite left wing fascists.
NYTimes stock; head'n for the pink sheets, or in their case, the pinko sheets.
Haven't they been saying this since the 70's? That's when the papers started their death spiral. The internet is only making it a steeper slide.
Dinosaur Meet Tarpit!
Pray for W and Our Freedom Fighters
Sipping on a martini here, too! Thanks for the news!
Central Fund of Canada wised me up about going along for an investment ride with voting vested interests actually sitting in the driver's seat. CEF, supposedly pegged to the price of gold, seemed like an easy way to take advantage of gold's appreciation without hassling with taking physical delivery of coins or bullion. Except with every increase in gold's price voting insiders inevitably restructured the fund to the benefit of insiders at the expense of nonvoting shareholders like me.
Bump.
If they started printing it on toilet paper the value might go up.
At least it would be useful.
And people say there's no good news about... LOL!!
Great news. Looks like more layoffs are on the horizon. It's a wonderful day when liberals lose their jobs.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.