E.W. Scripps (NASDAQ:SSP) Major Shareholder Corina Granado Acquires 69,976 Shares of Stock

E.W. Scripps Company (The) (NASDAQ:SSP) major shareholder Corina Granado purchased 69,976 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 4th. The stock was bought at an average price of $4.17 per share, for a total transaction of $291,799.92. Following the purchase, the insider owned 660,251 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,753,246.67. This represents a 11.85% increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Major shareholders that own more than 10% of a company’s shares are required to disclose their transactions with the SEC.

E.W. Scripps Stock Up 3.2%

SSP stock traded up $0.14 during trading on Friday, hitting $4.55. 638,266 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 531,460. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $3.66 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $3.36. The company has a quick ratio of 1.61, a current ratio of 1.65 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.13. E.W. Scripps Company has a 1 year low of $1.36 and a 1 year high of $4.98. The firm has a market capitalization of $404.05 million, a P/E ratio of -2.43 and a beta of 0.54.

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

Key Stories Impacting E.W. Scripps

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

• Positive Sentiment: Major shareholder Corina S. Granado significantly increased her stake with two disclosed buys (260,000 shares at ~$3.91 on Mar 3 and 69,976 shares at ~$4.17 on Mar 4), taking her position above 10% — a large, visible vote of confidence that reduces free float and likely supports buying interest. Read More.
• Positive Sentiment: CEO Adam Symson purchased 26,910 shares (~$3.69 avg), and board members Charles Barmonde (40,000 shares) and Monica Holcomb (7,500 shares) also bought stock — coordinated insider buying by management/board often signals confidence in near-term outlook. Read More. Read More. Read More.
• Positive Sentiment: Media coverage highlighting the concentrated insider buying spree amplified visibility and likely attracted short-term buyers and momentum traders. Read More.
• Positive Sentiment: Scripps agreed to acquire WTVQ (Lexington, KY) from Morris Network for $15.8M — a modest but accretive local-TV expansion that should help regional ad revenue and distribution reach. Read More.
• Neutral Sentiment: Short-interest data reported effectively zero shares short as of Mar 5 (0.0 days ratio) — the figure looks noisy/rounded and is unlikely to be a primary cause of intraday moves.
• Negative Sentiment: Fundamentals remain a headwind: the Feb. 25 quarter showed an EPS miss (reported ($0.06) vs. $0.46 expected) and negative margins/ROE, so upside is reliant on execution and margin recovery over time.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

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

Institutional Investors Weigh In On E.W. Scripps

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of SSP. D Orazio & Associates Inc. acquired a new position in shares of E.W. Scripps in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $27,000. M&T Bank Corp acquired a new stake in E.W. Scripps during the fourth quarter worth approximately $47,000. State of Alaska Department of Revenue acquired a new position in shares of E.W. Scripps during the 4th quarter valued at $47,000. Franklin Resources Inc. acquired a new position in E.W. Scripps during the third quarter worth $30,000. Finally, Pinnacle Associates Ltd. bought a new stake in E.W. Scripps in the 4th quarter worth about $50,000. 67.81% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.