Is Lee Enterprises (LEE) A Smart Long-Term Buy?

Praetorian Capital, an investment management firm, published its fourth-quarter 2021 investor letter – a copy of which can be downloaded here. During the fourth quarter of 2021, the fund appreciated by 22.44% net of fees. For 2021, the fund appreciated by 142.87% net of fees. Spare some time to check the fund’s top 5 holdings to have a clue about their top bets for 2022.

Praetorian Capital, in its Q4 2021 investor letter, mentioned Lee Enterprises, Incorporated (NYSE:LEE) and discussed its stance on the firm. Founded in 1890, Lee Enterprises, Incorporated (NYSE:LEE) is a Davenport, Iowa-based media company with a $173.4 million market capitalization, and is currently spearheaded by its CEO, Kevin D. Mowbray. Lee Enterprises, Incorporated (NYSE:LEE) delivered a -17.78% return since the beginning of the year, while its 12-month returns are up by 24.02%. The stock closed at $28.40 per share on March 17, 2022. 

Here is what Praetorian Capital has to say about Lee Enterprises, Incorporated (NYSE:LEE) in its Q4 2021 investor letter:

“During the fourth quarter, this fund engaged in shareholder activism. While I’d prefer to avoid the distractions of activism, I refuse to let us be a victim. The case in question involved our filing a 13D in
relation to an unsolicited take-over proposal for Lee Enterprises (LEE – USA) at $24. I believed that the offer was woefully inadequate and made my point known to LEE’s Board of Directors. Fortunately, the Board proceeded to reject the offer the following day. In the five trading days after we filed our 13D, the shares appreciated as high as $41, showing that other market participants agreed with me that $24 was inadequate. Once again, I don’t intend for this fund to go looking for fights, but I don’t intend to get abused either. As the fund gets larger, we will inevitably give up some of our edge in terms of liquidity; hopefully we’ll more than offset that by our ability to have our voice heard when necessary.”

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Our calculations show that Lee Enterprises, Incorporated (NYSE:LEE) failed to obtain a mark on our list of the 30 Most Popular Stocks Among Hedge Funds. Lee Enterprises, Incorporated (NYSE:LEE) was in 7 hedge fund portfolios at the end of the fourth quarter of 2021, compared to 3 funds in the previous quarter. Lee Enterprises, Incorporated (NYSE:LEE) delivered a -19.98% return in the past 3 months. You can find other letters from hedge funds and prominent investors on our hedge fund investor letters 2021 Q4 page.

Disclosure: None. This article is originally published at Insider Monkey.