E.W. Scripps Company (The) (NASDAQ:SSP) Given Average Rating of "Hold" by Analysts

Key Points

• Analysts have a consensus “Hold” rating on E.W. Scripps, with three holds, one sell and one buy. The average 12-month price target is $5.90.
• SSP shares opened at $3.09 and have a 52-week range of $2.02 to $5.39. In its latest quarter, the company reported a loss of $0.34 per share, better than the expected $0.53 loss, but revenue of $490.4 million fell short of estimates.
• Institutional investors own approximately 67.81% of the stock, with several hedge funds increasing their positions during the first quarter.

Shares of E.W. Scripps Company (The) (NASDAQ:SSP - Get Free Report) have received a consensus recommendation of "Hold" from the five analysts that are presently covering the stock, MarketBeat Ratings reports. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating and one has given a buy rating to the company. The average 12-month price target among brokers that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $5.90.

Several research analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Wall Street Zen raised E.W. Scripps from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Saturday. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price target on E.W. Scripps from $4.70 to $3.80 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, August 11th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a "sell (d)" rating on shares of E.W. Scripps in a research note on Wednesday, August 26th.

E.W. Scripps Trading Up 2.3%

Shares of SSP opened at $3.09 on Tuesday. The firm's 50-day moving average price is $3.16 and its 200-day moving average price is $3.50. The firm has a market capitalization of $286.35 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -0.22 and a beta of 0.68. The company has a current ratio of 1.34, a quick ratio of 1.34 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.08. E.W. Scripps has a 1-year low of $2.02 and a 1-year high of $5.39.

E.W. Scripps (NASDAQ:SSP - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 6th. The company reported ($0.34) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of ($0.53) by $0.19. E.W. Scripps had a negative net margin of 58.02% and a negative return on equity of 4.58%. The company had revenue of $490.40 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $511.65 million.

Institutional Trading of E.W. Scripps

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of SSP. Lee Danner & Bass Inc. bought a new position in shares of E.W. Scripps during the 1st quarter valued at approximately $5,273,000. Sei Investments Co. increased its holdings in E.W. Scripps by 174.7% in the 1st quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 582,224 shares of the company's stock worth $2,166,000 after acquiring an additional 370,260 shares in the last quarter. Gabelli Funds LLC raised its stake in E.W. Scripps by 23.2% during the 1st quarter. Gabelli Funds LLC now owns 1,375,524 shares of the company's stock worth $5,117,000 after acquiring an additional 258,908 shares during the period. Gamco Investors INC. ET AL raised its stake in E.W. Scripps by 9.0% during the 1st quarter. Gamco Investors INC. ET AL now owns 2,661,878 shares of the company's stock worth $9,902,000 after acquiring an additional 219,839 shares during the period. Finally, GABELLI & Co INVESTMENT ADVISERS INC. raised its stake in E.W. Scripps by 233.3% during the 1st quarter. GABELLI & Co INVESTMENT ADVISERS INC. now owns 241,500 shares of the company's stock worth $898,000 after acquiring an additional 169,050 shares during the period. 67.81% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

E.W. Scripps Company Profile

The E.W. Scripps Company is a diversified media company that operates local television stations and national broadcast and digital media networks. Its local media business provides news, weather, sports and community programming through television stations serving markets across the United States, along with related digital platforms.

Scripps' national portfolio includes Scripps News, a 24-hour news service, and entertainment and specialty networks such as ION, Bounce, Court TV, Grit and ION Mystery.

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