E.W. Scripps Company (The) (NASDAQ:SSP) Given Average Recommendation of "Reduce" by Brokerages

Key Points

• Analysts give E.W. Scripps a consensus "Reduce" rating (2 sell, 2 hold, 1 buy) with an average 12‑month price target of $6.95.
• The company missed EPS expectations last quarter (reported -$0.06 vs. $0.46 expected) while posting $560.3M in revenue; the stock trades around $3.79 with a 52‑week range of $1.90–$4.98 and a negative PE.
• There has been notable insider buying: major shareholders increased their holdings (insiders acquired ~1.33M shares worth $5.73M over three months), and institutions now own about 67.8% of the stock.

Shares of E.W. Scripps Company (The) (NASDAQ:SSP - Get Free Report) have been given a consensus rating of "Reduce" by the five research firms that are presently covering the firm, Marketbeat reports. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, two have assigned a hold rating and one has issued a buy rating on the company. The average 12-month price target among brokers that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $6.95.

Several equities research analysts have commented on the company. Zacks Research lowered E.W. Scripps from a "hold" rating to a "strong sell" rating in a research report on Friday, February 27th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on shares of E.W. Scripps from $3.00 to $3.90 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Thursday, January 22nd. Benchmark increased their price target 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 restated a "sell (d+)" rating on shares of E.W. Scripps in a research report on Monday, December 22nd. Finally, Guggenheim restated a "neutral" rating on shares of E.W. Scripps in a research report on Friday, March 6th.

E.W. Scripps Stock Performance

Shares of SSP stock opened at $3.79 on Tuesday. E.W. Scripps has a 52-week low of $1.90 and a 52-week high of $4.98. The company has a quick ratio of 1.65, a current ratio of 1.65 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.13. The stock has a market cap of $337.42 million, a PE ratio of -2.03 and a beta of 0.53. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $3.67 and a 200-day simple moving average of $3.47.

E.W. Scripps (NASDAQ:SSP - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, February 25th. The company reported ($0.06) EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.46 by ($0.52). The company 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%. On average, equities analysts expect that E.W. Scripps will post 1.07 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity

In other E.W. Scripps news, major shareholder Samantha J. Brickner bought 46,412 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 10th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $4.59 per share, for a total transaction of $213,031.08. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 110,433 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $506,887.47. The trade was a 72.49% increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, major shareholder Savannah Brickner purchased 27,682 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 10th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $4.59 per share, with a total value of $127,060.38. Following the purchase, the insider owned 66,226 shares in the company, valued at $303,977.34. This represents a 71.82% increase in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this purchase provides additional information. Over the last three months, insiders acquired 1,332,085 shares of company stock worth $5,733,766. 5.24% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of E.W. Scripps

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. XTX Topco Ltd grew its stake in E.W. Scripps by 47.2% in the 2nd quarter. XTX Topco Ltd now owns 351,406 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,033,000 after acquiring an additional 112,608 shares during the period. Penn Capital Management Company LLC increased its holdings in E.W. Scripps by 151.7% in the 3rd quarter. Penn Capital Management Company LLC now owns 3,599,606 shares of the company's stock worth $8,864,000 after acquiring an additional 2,169,640 shares in the last quarter. New York State Common Retirement Fund raised its position in E.W. Scripps by 142.3% during the third quarter. New York State Common Retirement Fund now owns 2,318,987 shares of the company's stock worth $5,705,000 after acquiring an additional 1,361,721 shares during the period. Teton Advisors LLC purchased a new position in E.W. Scripps during the third quarter valued at $728,000. Finally, Ritholtz Wealth Management lifted its holdings in E.W. Scripps by 155.9% during the third quarter. Ritholtz Wealth Management now owns 363,761 shares of the company's stock valued at $895,000 after purchasing an additional 221,629 shares in the last quarter. 67.81% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other 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.

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