Icahn Cuts Stake In Gannett Co Inc. (GCI), Sandell Gives Up On Ethan Allen Interiors Inc. (ETH), Plus Two Other Moves

According to a separate 13D filing, Carl Icahn’s Icahn Capital LP ceased to be the beneficial owner of more than 5% of Gannett Co Inc. (NYSE:GCI)’s shares as of January 13. The filing discloses an ownership stake of 5.38 million shares in the international news and information company, which account for 4.66% of its outstanding shares. The activist fund reported owning 7.48 million shares of the company through its 13F filing for the September quarter. Gannett Co Inc. (NYSE:GCI)’s operations include 112 daily publications and related digital platforms in the U.S and U.K, including USA TODAY and more than 550 non-daily publications. At the end of June, the separation of Gannett from its former parent company Tegna Inc. (NYSE:TGNA) was completed through a pro rata distribution of 98.5% of Gannett’s outstanding shares.

Gannett mainly generates revenue through advertising and subscriptions to its print and digital publications. Gannett reported operating revenue of $2.15 billion for the first nine months of 2015, down from $2.35 billion reported a year ago. The decrease was mainly attributable to weaker advertising revenues and steadily declining circulations revenue. Nonetheless, the stock has advanced by 19% over the past six months, though it still trades at attractive price-to-earnings ratios, including a forward P/E ratio of only 9.30, which is substantially below the 15.75 ratio for the S&P 500 Index. A total of 17 hedge funds from our database had stakes in the company at the end of the third quarter, amassing nearly 11% of its shares. D.E. Shaw & Co. L.P., founded by David E. Shaw, acquired a 1.11 million-share stake in Gannett Co Inc. (NYSE:GCI) during the third quarter.