Gannett shares are sharply down from a 52-week high of $31.14, reached in May of last year, but there was reason for encouragement last week.
According to Yahoo! Finance, shares of USA Today publisher surged 39 percent Thursday after a regulatory filing showed fund manager Ariel Investments LLC more than doubled its stake in the newspaper company in the last quarter.
Shares rose $1.06 to close at $3.75, amid broad gains in the stock market and a rally in newspaper company shares.
“There’s been just so much negative sentiment across the media sector,” Ariel portfolio manager John Miller said. “What can’t be ignored are the cyclical issues. We believe advertisers will return when the economy strengthens.”
The Mclean, Va.-based media company also owns recruitment site CareerBuilder.com.
