E.W. Scripps (NASDAQ:SSP) Major Shareholder Buys $137,298.99 in Stock

E.W. Scripps Company (The) (NASDAQ:SSP) major shareholder Eaton Scripps bought 30,993 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 5th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $4.43 per share, for a total transaction of $137,298.99. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 1,347,168 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,967,954.24. This represents a 2.35% increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Large shareholders that own more than 10% of a company’s stock are required to disclose their sales and purchases with the SEC.

E.W. Scripps Stock Up 3.6%

SSP stock opened at $4.57 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.13, a current ratio of 1.65 and a quick ratio of 1.65. The firm has a market capitalization of $405.83 million, a P/E ratio of -2.44 and a beta of 0.54. E.W. Scripps Company has a 52-week low of $1.36 and a 52-week high of $4.98. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $3.68 and its 200-day simple moving average is $3.38.

E.W. Scripps (NASDAQ:SSP) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 25th. The company reported ($0.06) EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates 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 firm had revenue of $560.26 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $550.82 million. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that E.W. Scripps Company will post 1.07 EPS for the current year.

More E.W. Scripps News

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

• Positive Sentiment: Leadership and directors buying shares — CEO Adam Symson bought 26,910 shares (~$3.69 avg) and multiple directors (Charles Barmonde, Monica Holcomb) added positions, signaling management confidence and reducing available float. Read More.
• Positive Sentiment: Major shareholder materially increased stake — Corina S. Granado bought large blocks (260,000 shares at ~$3.91 on Mar 3 and ~70k shares at ~$4.17 on Mar 4), pushing her above the 10% threshold; that is a high-visibility vote of confidence and may tighten free float. Read More.
• Positive Sentiment: Small strategic acquisition — Scripps agreed to buy WTVQ (Lexington, KY) for $15.8M, a targeted TV-market add that should modestly expand local ad reach and revenue potential. Read More.
• Neutral Sentiment: Short-interest data looks effectively zero but appears noisy/rounded — the report shows no meaningful short-interest and is unlikely to be a primary driver of price action. Read More.
• Negative Sentiment: Recent fundamentals remain a concern — the Feb. 25 quarter missed EPS expectations (reported ($0.06) vs. $0.46 expected) and showed negative margins/ROE; sustained upside depends on margin recovery and execution. Read More.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On E.W. Scripps

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Empowered Funds LLC increased its stake in shares of E.W. Scripps by 8.6% in the first quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 316,113 shares of the company’s stock worth $936,000 after acquiring an additional 25,070 shares during the last quarter. Strs Ohio acquired a new stake in E.W. Scripps during the first quarter valued at $117,000. Acadian Asset Management LLC grew its stake in E.W. Scripps by 6.4% in the second quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC now owns 1,231,807 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,618,000 after purchasing an additional 74,435 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its stake in E.W. Scripps by 0.7% in the second quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,516,298 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,459,000 after purchasing an additional 10,957 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Bailard Inc. increased its position in E.W. Scripps by 47.5% in the 2nd quarter. Bailard Inc. now owns 89,600 shares of the company’s stock worth $263,000 after purchasing an additional 28,858 shares during the last quarter. 67.81% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

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

E.W. Scripps Company Profile

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.