E.W. Scripps (NASDAQ:SSP) Announces Earnings Results, Misses Estimates By $0.52 EPS

E.W. Scripps (NASDAQ:SSP) released its earnings results on Wednesday. The company reported ($0.06) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.46 by ($0.52), Zacks reports. E.W. Scripps had a net margin of 0.99% and a return on equity of 9.82%.

E.W. Scripps Stock Up 4.3%

Shares of E.W. Scripps stock traded up $0.15 during trading hours on Wednesday, reaching $3.62. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 499,572 shares, compared to its average volume of 434,666. The company has a market capitalization of $321.46 million, a P/E ratio of 12.85 and a beta of 0.62. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $3.71 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $3.32. E.W. Scripps has a one year low of $1.36 and a one year high of $4.98. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.13, a quick ratio of 1.61 and a current ratio of 1.61.

Institutional Trading of E.W. Scripps

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Invesco Ltd. boosted its position in shares of E.W. Scripps by 1.4% during the fourth quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 246,777 shares of the company’s stock valued at $985,000 after buying an additional 3,472 shares during the last quarter. Empowered Funds LLC raised its holdings in shares of E.W. Scripps by 11.1% in the fourth quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 427,036 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,704,000 after purchasing an additional 42,542 shares during the last quarter. Stokes Family Office LLC purchased a new position in E.W. Scripps during the fourth quarter worth about $75,000. Bridgeway Capital Management LLC grew its position in E.W. Scripps by 13.7% in the 4th quarter. Bridgeway Capital Management LLC now owns 808,936 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,228,000 after purchasing an additional 97,542 shares in the last quarter. Finally, GAM Holding AG bought a new stake in E.W. Scripps in the 4th quarter worth about $319,000. 67.81% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

SSP has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on E.W. Scripps from $3.00 to $3.90 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, January 22nd. Weiss Ratings restated a “sell (d+)” rating on shares of E.W. Scripps in a report on Monday, December 22nd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, one has assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $5.95.

About E.W. Scripps

The E.W. Scripps Company is a diversified U.S. media organization headquartered in Cincinnati, Ohio. Established in 1878 by Edward Willis Scripps, the company began as a newspaper publisher before expanding into broadcast television, cable networks and digital journalism. Today, Scripps combines a legacy of local news reporting with a growing portfolio of national cable channels and digital platforms.

Scripps operates more than 60 television stations across over 40 markets, delivering local news, weather, sports and entertainment programming to communities in both large and mid-sized U.S.