E.W. Scripps (NASDAQ:SSP) Major Shareholder Margaret Scripps Klenzing Acquires 120,534 Shares

E.W. Scripps Company (The) (NASDAQ:SSP) major shareholder Margaret Scripps Klenzing purchased 120,534 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 5th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $4.43 per share, for a total transaction of $533,965.62. Following the completion of the purchase, the insider directly owned 582,463 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,580,311.09. The trade was a 26.09% increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Major shareholders that own more than 10% of a company’s shares are required to disclose their transactions with the SEC.

Margaret Scripps Klenzing also recently made the following trade(s):

• On Wednesday, March 4th, Margaret Scripps Klenzing bought 139,951 shares of E.W. Scripps stock. The stock was purchased at an average price of $4.17 per share, for a total transaction of $583,595.67.

E.W. Scripps Stock Performance

Shares of SSP stock opened at $4.57 on Friday. E.W. Scripps Company has a fifty-two week low of $1.36 and a fifty-two week high of $4.98. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $3.68 and its two-hundred day moving average is $3.37. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.13, a current ratio of 1.65 and a quick ratio of 1.61. The firm has a market cap of $405.82 million, a P/E ratio of -2.44 and a beta of 0.54.

E.W. Scripps (NASDAQ:SSP) last announced 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 firm had revenue of $560.26 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $550.82 million. E.W. Scripps had a negative net margin of 4.69% and a negative return on equity of 0.27%. Analysts predict that E.W. Scripps Company will post 1.07 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

SSP has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Benchmark upped their price objective on shares of E.W. Scripps from $8.00 to $10.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, February 27th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on E.W. Scripps from $3.00 to $3.90 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 22nd. Zacks Research downgraded E.W. Scripps from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research note on Friday, February 27th. Guggenheim reissued a “neutral” rating on shares of E.W. Scripps in a report on Friday. Finally, Weiss Ratings reissued a “sell (d+)” rating on shares of E.W. Scripps in a research note on Monday, December 22nd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, two have assigned a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, E.W. Scripps has an average rating of “Reduce” and an average target price of $6.95.

Trending Headlines about E.W. Scripps

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.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On E.W. Scripps

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Invesco Ltd. raised its stake in shares of E.W. Scripps by 1.4% in the 4th quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 246,777 shares of the company’s stock valued at $985,000 after buying an additional 3,472 shares in the last quarter. Prudential Financial Inc. increased its stake in E.W. Scripps by 2.4% in the second quarter. Prudential Financial Inc. now owns 182,344 shares of the company’s stock valued at $536,000 after acquiring an additional 4,342 shares during the period. MetLife Investment Management LLC increased its stake in E.W. Scripps by 18.2% in the fourth quarter. MetLife Investment Management LLC now owns 31,297 shares of the company’s stock valued at $125,000 after acquiring an additional 4,819 shares during the period. Diversified Trust Co. raised its position in E.W. Scripps by 25.8% in the fourth quarter. Diversified Trust Co. now owns 24,845 shares of the company’s stock worth $99,000 after purchasing an additional 5,101 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. lifted its stake in E.W. Scripps by 67.1% during the third quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 14,923 shares of the company’s stock worth $37,000 after purchasing an additional 5,992 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 67.81% of the company’s stock.

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.