Gannett Co., the largest U.S. newspaper company, has dropped to its lowest stock price in its over-17-year history in New York trading, after Lehman Brothers reduced its estimates for the stock price and full-year profit, Bloomberg reported.

Gannett's prices fell 26 cents, or 1.5 percent, to US$17.35, the lowest since December 1990, at 4:02 p.m. Tuesday in New York Stock Exchange composite trading. The shares have dropped 56 percent this year.

Analyst Craig Huber, who cut Gannett's price target 29 percent to $15 for the sixth time this year, stated that rising newsprint prices, weakening advertising sales and lower revenue from its online jobs site all caused the reduction. He adjusted 2008 profit to $3.65 a share, down from a previous estimate of $3.70, on a more than 12 percent drop in newspaper ad sales, Bloomberg reported.

However, “we do not think it is too late to sell Gannett shares,” Huber added. He maintained an “underweight” rating on the stock.

Huber also cut his estimate for 2009 profit to $3 per share from $3.20. “I expect newspaper ad revenue to fall another seven percent in 2009,” he said, steeper than an earlier estimate for a six percent drop, Bloomberg reported.