NEW YORK (Associated Press) - Shares of Premier Exhibitions Inc., fell more than 14 percent Wednesday, a day after the public exhibit organizer reported first-quarter results below Wall Street estimates, leading a Dougherty & Company analyst to downgrade the stock.

Shares fell 57 cents to close at $3.40 Wednesday. The stock hit a new 52-week low of $2.55 during the session, after setting a low of $3.75 the day before.

Premier Exhibitions on Tuesday announced a net loss of 3 cents per share for the quarter ended May 31, compared earnings of 10 cents per share in the same period last year.

On average, analysts surveyed by Thomson Financial expected net income of 6 cents per share.

The company attributed the loss to a reduced number of revenue-producing days because many of its exhibitions were traveling, negative publicity for the companies Bodies exhibit from ABC's 20/20 news show, and an increase in administrative costs as it tries to produce more of its own exhibits.

Dougherty analyst Gregory J. McKinley downgraded Premier Exhibitions to "Neutral" from "Buy" and reduced his earnings estimates.

"We are concerned about the company's ability to generate meaningful profitability with an expensive structure that appears to be spiraling out of control," analyst Gregory McKinley wrote in a report.

Dougherty & Company analysts had upgraded the stock in June on expectations that revenues in the May quarter would show the company could produce a stable profit. McKinley said the analysts were "absolutely wrong."

Bruce Eskowitz, Premier Exhibitions CEO and president, said in a statement that he expects profits to increase in the next quarter.