Contrasting E.W. Scripps (SSP) & Its Peers

E.W. Scripps (NASDAQ:SSP) is one of 257 public companies in the “Media” industry, but how does it contrast to its competitors? We will compare E.W. Scripps to related companies based on the strength of its dividends, institutional ownership, profitability, earnings, risk, valuation and analyst recommendations.

Profitability

This table compares E.W. Scripps and its competitors’ net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
E.W. Scripps	-54.15%	8.78%	0.75%
E.W. Scripps Competitors	-18.57%	-47.83%	-4.78%

Analyst Recommendations

This is a summary of current recommendations and price targets for E.W. Scripps and its competitors, as provided by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
E.W. Scripps	1	3	1	0	2.00
E.W. Scripps Competitors	2324	6913	10761	489	2.46

E.W. Scripps currently has a consensus price target of $5.90, indicating a potential upside of 93.44%. As a group, “Media” companies have a potential upside of 26.58%. Given E.W. Scripps’ higher possible upside, analysts plainly believe E.W. Scripps is more favorable than its competitors.

Risk & Volatility

E.W. Scripps has a beta of 0.71, indicating that its share price is 29% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, E.W. Scripps’ competitors have a beta of 0.96, indicating that their average share price is 4% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Dividends

E.W. Scripps pays an annual dividend of $0.20 per share and has a dividend yield of 6.6%. E.W. Scripps pays out -1.5% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. As a group, “Media” companies pay a dividend yield of 5.2% and pay out 119.4% of their earnings in the form of a dividend. E.W. Scripps is clearly a better dividend stock than its competitors, given its higher yield and lower payout ratio.

Institutional & Insider Ownership

67.8% of E.W. Scripps shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 37.7% of shares of all “Media” companies are held by institutional investors. 5.2% of E.W. Scripps shares are held by company insiders. Comparatively, 17.6% of shares of all “Media” companies are held by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that large money managers, endowments and hedge funds believe a company is poised for long-term growth.

Earnings & Valuation

This table compares E.W. Scripps and its competitors top-line revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Net Income	Price/Earnings Ratio
E.W. Scripps	$2.09 billion	-$100.88 million	-0.23
E.W. Scripps Competitors	$2.94 billion	$35.12 million	-0.16

E.W. Scripps’ competitors have higher revenue and earnings than E.W. Scripps. E.W. Scripps is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than its competitors, indicating that it is currently more affordable than other companies in its industry.

Summary

E.W. Scripps competitors beat E.W. Scripps on 9 of the 15 factors compared.

About E.W. Scripps

The E.W. Scripps Company, together with its subsidiaries, operates as a media enterprise through a portfolio of local television stations, national news, and entertainment networks in the United States. It operates through Local Media, Scripps Networks, and Other segments. The Local Media segment operates broadcast television stations, which produce news, information, sports, and entertainment content, as well as its related digital operations; runs network, syndicated, and original programming, and local sporting events; and provides core and political advertising services. The Scripps Networks segment offers national television networks through free over-the-air broadcast, cable/satellite, connected TV, and digital distribution. This segment also provides Scripp News, a national news network, which provides politics, entertainment, science, and technology news; Court TV, which showcases live trials; entertainment brands, such as Bounce, Defy TV, Grit, ION Mystery, and Laff; and ION, a national network of broadcast stations and broadcast television spectrum, which distributes programming through Federal Communications Commission-licensed television stations, as well as affiliated TV stations through over-the-air broadcast and pay TV platforms. In addition, it provides content and services through digital platforms, including the Internet, smartphones, and tablets; Nuvyyo, which offers consumers DVR product solutions to watch and record free over-the-air HDTV on connected devices; and Scripps National Spelling Bee, which shows educational programs. The company serves audiences and businesses through cable and satellite service providers. The E.W. Scripps Company was founded in 1878 and is headquartered in Cincinnati, Ohio.