E.W. Scripps (NASDAQ:SSP) Major Shareholder Acquires $26,642.88 in Stock

E.W. Scripps Company (The) (NASDAQ:SSP) major shareholder Anthony Granado acquired 5,742 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 6th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $4.64 per share, with a total value of $26,642.88. Following the purchase, the insider owned 34,660 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $160,822.40. This trade represents a 19.86% increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Major shareholders that own more than 10% of a company’s shares are required to disclose their sales and purchases with the SEC.

E.W. Scripps Stock Down 1.7%

SSP traded down $0.07 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $4.00. 74,048 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 579,185. The firm has a market cap of $355.38 million, a P/E ratio of -2.13 and a beta of 0.54. E.W. Scripps Company has a 12-month low of $1.90 and a 12-month high of $4.98. The company has a current ratio of 1.65, a quick ratio of 1.65 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.13. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $3.70 and a 200 day moving average of $3.41.

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on SSP shares. Benchmark increased their price target on E.W. Scripps from $8.00 to $10.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, February 27th. Guggenheim reissued a “neutral” rating on shares of E.W. Scripps in a research report on Friday, March 6th. Zacks Research lowered shares of E.W. Scripps from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research note on Friday, February 27th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “sell (d+)” rating on shares of E.W. Scripps in a report on Monday, December 22nd. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on shares of 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. One analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, two have issued a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Reduce” and an average price target of $6.95.

Institutional Trading of E.W. Scripps

A number of institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of SSP. XTX Topco Ltd boosted its position in shares of E.W. Scripps by 47.2% during the 2nd quarter. XTX Topco Ltd now owns 351,406 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,033,000 after acquiring an additional 112,608 shares in the last quarter. New York State Common Retirement Fund raised its position in shares of E.W. Scripps by 142.3% during the 3rd quarter. New York State Common Retirement Fund now owns 2,318,987 shares of the company’s stock worth $5,705,000 after acquiring an additional 1,361,721 shares in the last quarter. Teton Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in E.W. Scripps during the third quarter worth approximately $728,000. Acadian Asset Management LLC lifted its stake in E.W. Scripps by 6.4% during the second quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC now owns 1,231,807 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,618,000 after purchasing an additional 74,435 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Bailard Inc. boosted its holdings in E.W. Scripps by 47.5% in the second quarter. Bailard Inc. now owns 89,600 shares of the company’s stock valued at $263,000 after purchasing an additional 28,858 shares in the last quarter. 67.81% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.