Insider Buying: E.W. Scripps (NASDAQ:SSP) Major Shareholder Buys 4,200 Shares of Stock

E.W. Scripps Company (The) (NASDAQ:SSP) major shareholder Anthony Granado acquired 4,200 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 10th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $4.59 per share, with a total value of $19,278.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the insider owned 45,712 shares in the company, valued at approximately $209,818.08. This represents a 10.12% increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Large shareholders that own 10% or more of a company’s shares are required to disclose their sales and purchases with the SEC.

E.W. Scripps Price Performance

SSP stock traded down $0.23 during trading on Wednesday, hitting $4.17. The stock had a trading volume of 921,662 shares, compared to its average volume of 627,969. The stock has a market cap of $370.30 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -2.23 and a beta of 0.54. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.13, a quick ratio of 1.65 and a current ratio of 1.65. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $3.70 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $3.40. E.W. Scripps Company has a 1-year low of $1.72 and a 1-year high of $4.98.

E.W. Scripps (NASDAQ:SSP) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 25th. The company reported ($0.06) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.46 by ($0.52). E.W. Scripps had a negative return on equity of 0.27% and a negative net margin of 4.69%.The business had revenue of $560.26 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $550.82 million. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that E.W. Scripps Company will post 1.07 EPS for the current fiscal year.

E.W. Scripps News Summary

Here are the key news stories impacting E.W. Scripps this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Analysts’ average price target of $6.95 implies meaningful upside versus the stock’s current trading range, supporting buyer interest. E.W. Scripps Company (The) (NASDAQ:SSP) Receives $6.95 Average Price Target from Brokerages
• Positive Sentiment: Large, high?visibility insider purchase: major shareholder Margaret Scripps Klenzing bought 159,515 shares (~27% increase to her stake) at about $4.64 — a sizable vote of confidence that can attract other investors. SEC Filing – Margaret Scripps Klenzing
• Positive Sentiment: Multiple additional insider buys (Corina S. Granado, Eaton M. Scripps, Anthony S. Granado, Elizabeth Scripps and director Raymundo H. Jr. Granado made recent purchases totaling hundreds of thousands of shares across insiders), reinforcing the bullish signal from family/major holders. (See SEC filings for details.) Corina S. Granado SEC Filing Eaton M. Scripps SEC Filing Anthony S. Granado SEC Filing Elizabeth Scripps SEC Filing Raymundo H. Jr. Granado SEC Filing
• Neutral Sentiment: Short-interest numbers in the provided snapshot are inconsistent (showing 0 shares / NaN changes) and are unreliable as a near?term signal until validated by an exchange short-interest report.
• Negative Sentiment: Company fundamentals remain mixed: SSP missed on EPS in the Feb. 25 quarter (reported $(0.06) vs. a consensus $0.46) and carries a high debt?to?equity ratio (~3.13), which are longer?term headwinds that could cap upside absent improving margins or guidance. SSP Financials & Earnings

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have weighed in on SSP. Weiss Ratings reissued a “sell (d+)” rating on shares of E.W. Scripps in a research report on Monday, December 22nd. Guggenheim reiterated a “neutral” rating on shares of E.W. Scripps in a research note on Friday, March 6th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on E.W. Scripps from $3.00 to $3.90 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, January 22nd. Benchmark lifted their price objective on E.W. Scripps from $8.00 to $10.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, February 27th. Finally, Zacks Research lowered E.W. Scripps from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research report on Friday, February 27th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, two have given a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, E.W. Scripps presently has a consensus rating of “Reduce” and a consensus target price of $6.95.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On E.W. Scripps

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of SSP. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its position in shares of E.W. Scripps by 22.6% during the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 4,722,317 shares of the company’s stock worth $18,842,000 after purchasing an additional 871,159 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its position in E.W. Scripps by 1.7% during the 4th quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 3,671,714 shares of the company’s stock valued at $14,650,000 after purchasing an additional 60,729 shares during the period. Penn Capital Management Company LLC boosted its position in E.W. Scripps by 151.7% during the 3rd quarter. Penn Capital Management Company LLC now owns 3,599,606 shares of the company’s stock valued at $8,864,000 after purchasing an additional 2,169,640 shares during the period. Gamco Investors INC. ET AL grew its stake in E.W. Scripps by 0.7% during the 4th quarter. Gamco Investors INC. ET AL now owns 2,442,039 shares of the company’s stock worth $9,744,000 after buying an additional 16,359 shares during the last quarter. Finally, New York State Common Retirement Fund increased its position in E.W. Scripps by 142.3% in the third quarter. New York State Common Retirement Fund now owns 2,318,987 shares of the company’s stock worth $5,705,000 after buying an additional 1,361,721 shares during the period. 67.81% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.