Eaton Scripps Buys 30,993 Shares of E.W. Scripps (NASDAQ:SSP) Stock

E.W. Scripps Company (The) (NASDAQ:SSP) major shareholder Eaton Scripps acquired 30,993 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 5th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $4.43 per share, with a total value of $137,298.99. Following the transaction, the insider owned 1,347,168 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,967,954.24. The trade was a 2.35% increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Large shareholders that own more than 10% of a company’s shares are required to disclose their transactions with the SEC.

E.W. Scripps Trading Up 3.6%

Shares of NASDAQ:SSP traded up $0.16 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $4.57. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 1,401,285 shares, compared to its average volume of 549,543. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $3.66 and a 200 day moving average price of $3.36. 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 cap of $405.83 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -2.44 and a beta of 0.54. 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 (NASDAQ:SSP) last posted its quarterly earnings data 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 for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $550.82 million. Research analysts forecast that E.W. Scripps Company will post 1.07 EPS for the current year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company upped 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 report on Thursday, January 22nd. Weiss Ratings restated a “sell (d+)” rating on shares of E.W. Scripps in a research note on Monday, December 22nd. Benchmark increased their target price on E.W. Scripps from $8.00 to $10.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, February 27th. 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. Finally, Guggenheim restated a “neutral” rating on shares of E.W. Scripps in a research note on Friday. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, two have given a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, E.W. Scripps currently has an average rating of “Reduce” and an average price target 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.

Institutional Trading of E.W. Scripps

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. D Orazio & Associates Inc. acquired a new position in E.W. Scripps during the third quarter valued at $27,000. Franklin Resources Inc. acquired a new position in shares of E.W. Scripps in the 3rd quarter valued at about $30,000. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. lifted its position in shares of E.W. Scripps by 67.1% in 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 in the last quarter. Squarepoint Ops LLC acquired a new stake in shares of E.W. Scripps during the third quarter worth approximately $42,000. Finally, NewEdge Advisors LLC purchased a new position in E.W. Scripps during the third quarter valued at approximately $42,000. 67.81% of the stock is currently owned by 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.