Gannett acts to protect your value

Article Excerpt

GANNETT CO. INC. $0.75 is a hold. The company (New York symbol GCI; Conservative-Growth Portfolio, Consumer sector: Shares outstanding: 113.1 million; Market cap: $84.8 million; Price-to-sales ratio: 0.1; Dividend suspended; TSINetwork Rating: Speculative; www.gannett.com) recently merged with GateHouse Media, and its parent company New Media Investment Group Inc. (New York symbol NEWM). Gannett investors received $6.25 in cash plus 0.5427 of a NEWM share for each share they held. As a group, they now own 49.5% of the combined company; New Media investors own the remaining 50.5%. The new firm publishes 261 daily newspapers in 46 states. Those include the flagship newspaper, USAToday. The COVID-19 pandemic has forced many businesses to cut their spending on print advertising. In response, Gannett has suspended its dividend and plans to cut $100 million to $125 million from its costs in 2020. Those savings are in addition to the $300 million a year in merger-related savings. It expects to complete that plan by the end of 2021. Separately, Gannett still…