Tribune Publishing (NASDAQ:TPCO) and Lee Enterprises (NYSE:LEE) are both small-cap consumer discretionary companies, but which is the better investment? We will contrast the two companies based on the strength of their institutional ownership, valuation, earnings, analyst recommendations, profitability, risk and dividends.
Earnings and Valuation
This table compares Tribune Publishing and Lee Enterprises’ revenue, earnings per share and valuation.
| Gross Revenue | Price/Sales Ratio | Net Income | Earnings Per Share | Price/Earnings Ratio | |
| Tribune Publishing | $1.52 billion | 0.28 | $5.53 million | $1.08 | 11.16 |
| Lee Enterprises | $543.96 million | 0.23 | $45.76 million | N/A | N/A |
Lee Enterprises has lower revenue, but higher earnings than Tribune Publishing.
Insider & Institutional Ownership
38.4% of Tribune Publishing shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 40.4% of Lee Enterprises shares are held by institutional investors. 1.7% of Tribune Publishing shares are held by insiders. Comparatively, 8.8% of Lee Enterprises shares are held by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that endowments, hedge funds and large money managers believe a company will outperform the market over the long term.
Profitability
This table compares Tribune Publishing and Lee Enterprises’ net margins, return on equity and return on assets.
| Net Margins | Return on Equity | Return on Assets | |
| Tribune Publishing | 18.92% | 6.90% | 2.11% |
| Lee Enterprises | 8.41% | -43.55% | 3.51% |
Analyst Recommendations
This is a summary of current ratings and recommmendations for Tribune Publishing and Lee Enterprises, as provided by MarketBeat.com.
| Sell Ratings | Hold Ratings | Buy Ratings | Strong Buy Ratings | Rating Score | |
| Tribune Publishing | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | N/A |
| Lee Enterprises | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | N/A |
Risk and Volatility
Tribune Publishing has a beta of 1.78, suggesting that its stock price is 78% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Lee Enterprises has a beta of 1.47, suggesting that its stock price is 47% more volatile than the S&P 500.
Summary
Tribune Publishing beats Lee Enterprises on 6 of the 10 factors compared between the two stocks.
About Tribune Publishing
Tribune Publishing Company, a media company, publishes newspapers worldwide. The company operates in two segments, troncM and troncX. It publishes daily newspapers; weekly newspapers; and digital platforms, such as Websites and mobile applications. The company also provides various digital marketing services, which include the development of mobile Websites, search engine marketing and optimization, social media account management, and content marketing for its customers’ Web presence for small to medium size businesses. In addition, it offers TCA, a syndication and licensing business that provides daily news service and syndicated premium content to 1,700 media and digital information publishers; and forsalebyowner.com, a national consumer-to-consumer focused real estate Website. The company was formerly known as tronc, Inc. and changed its name to Tribune Publishing Company in October 2018. Tribune Publishing Company was founded in 2013 and is headquartered in Chicago, Illinois.
About Lee Enterprises
Lee Enterprises, Incorporated provides local news and information, and advertising services primarily in the Midwest, Mountain West, and West regions of the United States. It publishes 47 daily newspapers with 0.8 million circulation units, as well as Sunday newspapers with 1.2 million circulation units; and 300 weekly newspapers, and classified and niche publications in 22 states with print and related digital operations. The company also offers retail, classified, national, and digital advertising services, as well as custom digital marketing services. Lee Enterprises, Incorporated was founded in 1890 and is based in Davenport, Iowa.
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