Insider Buying: E.W. Scripps (NASDAQ:SSP) Major Shareholder Purchases 10,000 Shares of Stock

E.W. Scripps Company (The) (NASDAQ:SSP) major shareholder Manuel Granado purchased 10,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 10th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $4.46 per share, for a total transaction of $44,600.00. Following the purchase, the insider owned 20,000 shares in the company, valued at $89,200. This represents a 100.00% increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Major shareholders that own more than 10% of a company’s stock are required to disclose their transactions with the SEC.

E.W. Scripps Trading Down 5.2%

NASDAQ:SSP traded down $0.23 on Wednesday, reaching $4.17. The stock had a trading volume of 921,662 shares, compared to its average volume of 627,969. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.13, a current ratio of 1.65 and a quick ratio of 1.65. E.W. Scripps Company has a 1-year low of $1.72 and a 1-year high of $4.98. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $3.70 and a 200-day moving average price of $3.40.

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

Hedge Funds Weigh In On E.W. Scripps

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in SSP. Invesco Ltd. grew its position in shares of E.W. Scripps by 1.4% during the 4th quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 246,777 shares of the company’s stock worth $985,000 after buying an additional 3,472 shares during the period. Prudential Financial Inc. grew its holdings in shares of E.W. Scripps by 2.4% in the 2nd quarter. Prudential Financial Inc. now owns 182,344 shares of the company’s stock valued at $536,000 after buying an additional 4,342 shares during the period. MetLife Investment Management LLC raised its stake in E.W. Scripps by 18.2% during the 4th quarter. MetLife Investment Management LLC now owns 31,297 shares of the company’s stock worth $125,000 after buying an additional 4,819 shares during the period. Diversified Trust Co. raised its stake in E.W. Scripps by 25.8% during the 4th quarter. Diversified Trust Co. now owns 24,845 shares of the company’s stock worth $99,000 after buying an additional 5,101 shares during the period. Finally, Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. lifted its holdings 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 acquiring an additional 5,992 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 67.81% of the company’s stock.

Key Stories Impacting E.W. Scripps

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

• Positive Sentiment: Analysts’ average price target of $6.95 implies meaningful upside versus the stock’s current trading range, supporting buyer interest. E.W. Scripps Company (The) (NASDAQ:SSP) Receives $6.95 Average Price Target from Brokerages
• Positive Sentiment: Large, high‑visibility insider purchase: major shareholder Margaret Scripps Klenzing bought 159,515 shares (~27% increase to her stake) at about $4.64 — a sizable vote of confidence that can attract other investors. SEC Filing – Margaret Scripps Klenzing
• Positive Sentiment: Multiple additional insider buys (Corina S. Granado, Eaton M. Scripps, Anthony S. Granado, Elizabeth Scripps and director Raymundo H. Jr. Granado made recent purchases totaling hundreds of thousands of shares across insiders), reinforcing the bullish signal from family/major holders. (See SEC filings for details.) Corina S. Granado SEC Filing Eaton M. Scripps SEC Filing Anthony S. Granado SEC Filing Elizabeth Scripps SEC Filing Raymundo H. Jr. Granado SEC Filing
• Neutral Sentiment: Short-interest numbers in the provided snapshot are inconsistent (showing 0 shares / NaN changes) and are unreliable as a near‑term signal until validated by an exchange short-interest report.
• Negative Sentiment: Company fundamentals remain mixed: SSP missed on EPS in the Feb. 25 quarter (reported $(0.06) vs. a consensus $0.46) and carries a high debt‑to‑equity ratio (~3.13), which are longer‑term headwinds that could cap upside absent improving margins or guidance. SSP Financials & Earnings

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have recently commented on SSP shares. Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on E.W. Scripps from $3.00 to $3.90 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, January 22nd. Zacks Research downgraded shares of E.W. Scripps from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research report on Friday, February 27th. Benchmark increased 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. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “sell (d+)” rating on shares of E.W. Scripps in a research note on Monday, December 22nd. Finally, Guggenheim reiterated a “neutral” rating on shares of E.W. Scripps in a research report on Friday, March 6th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, two have issued a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Reduce” and a consensus target price of $6.95.

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.