Fact based stock research
Lee (NYSE:LEE)
US5237684064
How to read the free ranks
For every stock, we judge its performance against its peers and rank it on a scale of 1 to 100. The higher the rank, the better the stock performs than its peers. And, we do this for six investment strategies:
Value - shows how good of a value the stock is. Green is "inexpensive"; red is "expensive".
Growth - shows a company's growth potential. Green is "high growth" expected; red is "tough times ahead".
Safety - relates to the amount of debt a company has. Green is low debt level; red is high debt level.
Combined Financial - this isn't an average of the first three ranks but rather a consolidated view across several financial indicators. Green = good; red = tread carefully.
(NEW) Sentiment - quantifies professional analyst ratings and holdings as well as market pulse. Green = positive sentiment; red = skepticism (Only available to Premium Subscribers).
(NEW) 360° View - the ultimate rating with all financial and non-financial indicators.
Lee stock research in summary
ANALYSIS: With an Obermatt Combined Rank of 1 (worse than 99% compared with investment alternatives), Lee (Publishing, USA) shares have lower financial characteristics compared with similar stocks. Shares of Lee are low in value (priced high) with a consolidated Value Rank of 19 (worse than 81% of alternatives), show below-average growth (Growth Rank of 23), and are riskily financed (Safety Rank of 19), which means above-average debt burdens. ...read more
RECOMMENDATION: A Combined Rank of 1, is a sell recommendation based on Lee's financial characteristics. As the company Lee's key financial metrics all exhibit below-average performance, such as low value (Obermatt Value Rank of 19), low growth (Obermatt Growth Rank of 23), and risky financing practices (Obermatt Safety Rank of 19), it is a somewhat questionable stock investment, where the risk of paying too much for the shares is significant, unless the company has an exceptionally bright future. Such poor financial performance sometimes indicates that the company's business is all concentrated in some distant future. This is sometimes the case for high-tech or biotechnology companies. If they own properties that only provide cash flows in the future, the stock may look excessively expensive and risky today. In such cases, the Obermatt Method has limited value as it is based on facts we can observe today. If the facts are all in the future, stock investing becomes guesswork, and this should only be a driver in a limited number of investments that should only amount to a small fraction of a safe portfolio. Obermatt Premium subscribers can further check the stock’s Sentiment Ranks, which also flow into the Obermatt 360° View for investors. ...read more
Latest Obermatt Ranks
Log in or sign up to see the new 360° View and Sentiment ranks.
360° Viewnew| Country | USA |
| Industry | Publishing |
| Index | NASDAQ |
| Size class | Medium |
14-Nov-2024. Stock data may be delayed. Log in or sign up to get the most recent research.
Analysts rarely agree on a stock’s future. So, who do you believe? Obermatt translates those collective views into a single Sentiment Rank. That plus the financial ranks give you the ultimate 360° View. Sign up to access them.
It’s easier said than done. When your stock drops, it’s easy to want to sell it and find a better performer. Think twice, or even three times, before trading. Those fees (especially the hidden ones) can eat up your gains.
Review the performance ranks of the individual metrics that form each investment strategy.
Research History: Lee
| RESEARCH HISTORY | 2021 | 2022 | 2023 | 2024 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| VALUE | ||||||||
| VALUE | 90 |
|
73 |
|
45 |
|
19 |
|
| GROWTH | ||||||||
| GROWTH | 6 |
|
83 |
|
1 |
|
23 |
|
| SAFETY | ||||||||
| SAFETY | 6 |
|
18 |
|
4 |
|
19 |
|
| SENTIMENT | ||||||||
| SENTIMENT | n/a |
|
82 |
|
29 |
|
new |
|
| 360° VIEW | ||||||||
| 360° VIEW | n/a |
|
67 |
|
1 |
|
new |
|
Combined financial peformance in Detail
ANALYSIS: With an Obermatt Combined Rank of 1 (worse than 99% compared with investment alternatives), Lee (Publishing, USA) shares have lower financial characteristics compared with similar stocks. Shares of Lee are low in value (priced high) with a consolidated Value Rank of 19 (worse than 81% of alternatives), show below-average growth (Growth Rank of 23), and are riskily financed (Safety Rank of 19), which means above-average debt burdens. ...read more
RECOMMENDATION: A Combined Rank of 1, is a sell recommendation based on Lee's financial characteristics. As the company Lee's key financial metrics all exhibit below-average performance, such as low value (Obermatt Value Rank of 19), low growth (Obermatt Growth Rank of 23), and risky financing practices (Obermatt Safety Rank of 19), it is a somewhat questionable stock investment, where the risk of paying too much for the shares is significant, unless the company has an exceptionally bright future. Such poor financial performance sometimes indicates that the company's business is all concentrated in some distant future. This is sometimes the case for high-tech or biotechnology companies. If they own properties that only provide cash flows in the future, the stock may look excessively expensive and risky today. In such cases, the Obermatt Method has limited value as it is based on facts we can observe today. If the facts are all in the future, stock investing becomes guesswork, and this should only be a driver in a limited number of investments that should only amount to a small fraction of a safe portfolio. Obermatt Premium subscribers can further check the stock’s Sentiment Ranks, which also flow into the Obermatt 360° View for investors. ...read more
| RESEARCH HISTORY | 2021 | 2022 | 2023 | 2024 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| VALUE | ||||||||
| VALUE | 90 |
|
73 |
|
45 |
|
19 |
|
| GROWTH | ||||||||
| GROWTH | 6 |
|
83 |
|
1 |
|
23 |
|
| SAFETY | ||||||||
| SAFETY | 6 |
|
18 |
|
4 |
|
19 |
|
| COMBINED | ||||||||
| COMBINED | 24 |
|
67 |
|
4 |
|
1 |
|
Value Metrics in Detail
ANALYSIS: With an Obermatt Value Rank of 19 (worse than 81% compared with alternatives), Lee shares are significantly more expensive than comparable stocks. The Value Rank is based on consolidating four value indicators, where the majority of metrics are below, and only one is above average for Lee. Price-to-Sales (P/S) is 95, which means that the stock price compared with what market professionals expect for future sales is lower than 95% of comparable companies, indicating a good value concerning to Lee's revenue size. But all other performance indicators point in a different direction. Dividend yields have a Dividend Yield rank of 1, meaning that dividends are expected to be lower than for 99% of comparable investments. Furthermore, Price-to-Book Capital (also referred to as market-to-book ratio) is less favorable than 98% of alternatives (only 2% of peers have an even higher ratio). The same is valid for Price-to-Profit (or Price / Earnings, P/E), which is higher than for 68% of comparable companies, making the stock more expensive compared with the company's expected profit levels. ...read more
RECOMMENDATION: The overall picture with a consolidated Value Rank of 19, is a sell recommendation based on Lee's stock price compared with the company's operational size and dividend yields. Since Price-to-Sales is a stable value indicator even in challenging times, investing in Lee could be seen as a value investment. However, there must be a good reason for the low market-to-book rank. If the company has a typical capital investment practice, the stock may be overvalued because the profit and dividend-related performance indicators are also low. The stock is only good value if investors can expect profits and dividends to pick up in the future. Else, Lee looks like an expensive investment today. We recommend further analyzing the stock with Obermatt’s Value, Safety, and Sentiment Ranks, including the 360° View, before making an investment decision, which is especially important in this case, as the financial indicators are inconclusive. ...read more
| VALUE METRICS | 2021 | 2022 | 2023 | 2024 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| PRICE VS. REVENUES (P/S) | ||||||||
| PRICE VS. REVENUES (P/S) | 100 |
|
100 |
|
96 |
|
95 |
|
| PRICE VS. PROFITS (P/E) | ||||||||
| PRICE VS. PROFITS (P/E) | 95 |
|
89 |
|
93 |
|
32 |
|
| PRICE VS. CAPITAL (Market-to-Book) | ||||||||
| PRICE VS. CAPITAL (Market-to-Book) | 95 |
|
35 |
|
34 |
|
2 |
|
| DIVIDEND YIELD | ||||||||
| DIVIDEND YIELD | 1 |
|
1 |
|
1 |
|
1 |
|
| CONSOLIDATED RANK: VALUE | ||||||||
| CONSOLIDATED RANK: VALUE | 90 |
|
73 |
|
45 |
|
19 |
|
Growth Metrics in Detail
ANALYSIS: With an Obermatt Growth Rank of 23 (better than 23% compared with alternatives), Lee shows one of the most restricted growth dynamics in its industry. There is little momentum in this company. The Growth Rank is based on consolidating four value indicators, with three out of four indicators below average for Lee. Sales Growth has a below market rank of 25, which means that, currently, professionals expect the company to grow less than 75% of its competitors. The same is valid for Capital Growth, with a rank of 25, and Profit Growth, with a rank of 17. Currently, professionals expect the company to grow its profits less than 83% of its competitors). Only shareholders are optimistic. Stock Returns are above average at a rank of 91, which means that the stock returns have recently been above 91% of alternative investments. ...read more
RECOMMENDATION: The overall picture with a consolidated Growth Rank of 23, is a sell recommendation for growth and momentum investors. That picture may be the result for a company that has reached the bottom. All went south for Lee, and it still looks bad, but some investors already see light at the end of the tunnel, rewarding the stock with recent above-market stock returns. It could also mean that investors are correcting an overreaction to negative news. If that were the case, the positive stock returns are not yet a sign of recovery. Investors should look closely at the Value and Sentiment indicators before they make a stock purchasing decision, because growth is unlikely to be the driving argument behind this investment. While momentum is a popular investment factor, the value aspect might be the more important one, in the longer term. We recommend analyzing the stock with Obermatt’s Value, Safety, and Sentiment Ranks to arrive at a 360° View of the stock purchase case, especially since the growth performance is low here. ...read more
| GROWTH METRICS | 2021 | 2022 | 2023 | 2024 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| REVENUE GROWTH | ||||||||
| REVENUE GROWTH | 16 |
|
80 |
|
5 |
|
25 |
|
| PROFIT GROWTH | ||||||||
| PROFIT GROWTH | 100 |
|
6 |
|
3 |
|
17 |
|
| CAPITAL GROWTH | ||||||||
| CAPITAL GROWTH | n/a |
|
99 |
|
17 |
|
25 |
|
| STOCK RETURNS | ||||||||
| STOCK RETURNS | 7 |
|
99 |
|
15 |
|
91 |
|
| CONSOLIDATED RANK: GROWTH | ||||||||
| CONSOLIDATED RANK: GROWTH | 6 |
|
83 |
|
1 |
|
23 |
|
Safety Metrics in Detail
ANALYSIS: With an Obermatt Safety Rank of 19 (better than 19% compared with alternatives), the company Lee has much riskier financing practices than comparable other companies, which means that their overall debt burden is significantly above the industry average. This doesn't mean that the business of Lee is also risky, it only means that the company is on the riskier side in respect to bankruptcy in case things turn sour, assuming that public reporting is correct. The Safety Rank is based on consolidating three financing indicators, with just one indicator above average for Lee. Liquidity is at 61, meaning the company generates more profit to service its debt than 61% of its competitors. This indicates that the company is safer when it comes to debt service. But Refinancing is riskier at a rank of 20, which means that the portion of the debt that is about to be refinanced is above average. It has more debt in the refinancing stage than 80% of its competitors. Leverage is also high at a rank of 6, which means that the company has an above-average debt-to-equity ratio. It has more debt than 94% of its competitors. ...read more
RECOMMENDATION: With a consolidated Safety Rank of 19 (worse than 81% compared with alternatives), Lee has a financing structure that is significantly riskier than that of its competitors. High Leverage (a low Obermatt Leverage Rank) is good in good times, because it usually indicates that shareholders get higher returns. The good Liquidity performance of the company is an indicator that this is the case. However, if you expect an economic downturn, you may stay clear of this stock because they have an above-average debt level that needs refinancing soon. If the company is sailing with good winds, as may be visible from the Growth and Sentiment performance, the refinancing risk may be lower than the low Refinancing rank suggests. ...read more
| SAFETY METRICS | 2021 | 2022 | 2023 | 2024 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| LEVERAGE | ||||||||
| LEVERAGE | 1 |
|
6 |
|
4 |
|
6 |
|
| REFINANCING | ||||||||
| REFINANCING | 20 |
|
12 |
|
12 |
|
20 |
|
| LIQUIDITY | ||||||||
| LIQUIDITY | 43 |
|
70 |
|
50 |
|
61 |
|
| CONSOLIDATED RANK: SAFETY | ||||||||
| CONSOLIDATED RANK: SAFETY | 6 |
|
18 |
|
4 |
|
19 |
|
Sentiment Metrics in Detail
| SENTIMENT | 2021 | 2022 | 2023 | 2024 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| ANALYST OPINIONS | ||||||||
| ANALYST OPINIONS | n/a |
|
75 |
|
75 |
|
new |
|
| OPINIONS CHANGE | ||||||||
| OPINIONS CHANGE | n/a |
|
50 |
|
50 |
|
new |
|
| PRO HOLDINGS | ||||||||
| PRO HOLDINGS | n/a |
|
51 |
|
3 |
|
new |
|
| MARKET PULSE | ||||||||
| MARKET PULSE | n/a |
|
24 |
|
26 |
|
new |
|
| CONSOLIDATED RANK: SENTIMENT | ||||||||
| CONSOLIDATED RANK: SENTIMENT | n/a |
|
82 |
|
29 |
|
new |
|
Free stock analysis by the purely fact based Obermatt Method for Lee from November 14, 2024.
Obermatt Portfolio Performance
We’re so convinced about our free research, that we buy our stock tips.
See the performance of the Obermatt portfolio.