E.W. Scripps (NASDAQ:SSP) Major Shareholder Eaton Scripps Buys 27,990 Shares of Stock

E.W. Scripps Company (The) (NASDAQ:SSP) major shareholder Eaton Scripps bought 27,990 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 4th. The shares were bought at an average price of $4.17 per share, with a total value of $116,718.30. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 1,316,175 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,488,449.75. This trade represents a 2.17% increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Major shareholders that own at least 10% of a company’s shares are required to disclose their transactions with the SEC.

E.W. Scripps Price Performance

Shares of SSP traded up $0.16 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $4.57. 1,401,285 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 539,685. 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 fifty-two week low of $1.36 and a fifty-two week high of $4.98. The company has a market cap of $405.82 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -2.44 and a beta of 0.54. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $3.68 and its 200 day moving average is $3.37.

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 analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.46 by ($0.52). E.W. Scripps had a negative net margin of 4.69% and a negative return on equity of 0.27%. The company had revenue of $560.26 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $550.82 million. On average, equities analysts anticipate that E.W. Scripps Company will post 1.07 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On E.W. Scripps

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. D Orazio & Associates Inc. bought a new position in E.W. Scripps in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Franklin Resources Inc. bought a new stake in shares of E.W. Scripps during the third quarter worth $30,000. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. grew its stake in shares of 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 buying an additional 5,992 shares during the last quarter. Squarepoint Ops LLC bought a new stake in shares of E.W. Scripps during the third quarter worth $42,000. Finally, NewEdge Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of E.W. Scripps during the third quarter worth $42,000. 67.81% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

SSP has been the topic of several analyst reports. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “sell (d+)” rating on shares of E.W. Scripps in a research report on Monday, December 22nd. Guggenheim restated a “neutral” rating on shares of E.W. Scripps in a research note on Friday. Benchmark raised their target price 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 lifted their price target on E.W. Scripps from $3.00 to $3.90 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 22nd. Finally, Zacks Research downgraded 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, two have assigned a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Reduce” and a consensus target price of $6.95.

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.

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.