E.W. Scripps (NASDAQ:SSP) Director Purchases $36,680.40 in Stock

Key Points

• Director Raymundo Jr. Granado bought 8,280 shares at an average $4.43 on March 9 (total $36,680.40), boosting his holding 12.22% to 76,014 shares valued about $336,742.
• Shares trade near $4.12 (down ~6.5% intraday) and the company recently missed Q4 EPS (reported ($0.06) vs. ~$0.46 expected), with a high debt/equity (~3.13) and negative margins presenting near‑term fundamental headwinds.
• Large, coordinated insider purchases by Scripps family members and a broker consensus average price target of $6.95 point to insider confidence and potential upside despite mixed analyst ratings.

E.W. Scripps Company (The) (NASDAQ:SSP - Get Free Report) Director Raymundo Jr. Granado acquired 8,280 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 9th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $4.43 per share, with a total value of $36,680.40. Following the purchase, the director directly owned 76,014 shares in the company, valued at $336,742.02. This represents a 12.22% increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link.

E.W. Scripps Trading Down 6.5%

E.W. Scripps stock traded down $0.29 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, hitting $4.12. The company's stock had a trading volume of 372,366 shares, compared to its average volume of 569,829. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $3.70 and a 200-day moving average price of $3.40. E.W. Scripps Company has a 12 month low of $1.72 and a 12 month high of $4.98. The stock has a market cap of $365.41 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -2.20 and a beta of 0.54. 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 (NASDAQ:SSP - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, February 25th. The company reported ($0.06) earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.46 by ($0.52). The company had revenue of $560.26 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $550.82 million. E.W. Scripps had a negative net margin of 4.69% and a negative return on equity of 0.27%. As a group, analysts forecast that E.W. Scripps Company will post 1.07 EPS for the current year.

Trending Headlines about E.W. Scripps

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

• Positive Sentiment: Large, high‑visibility insider purchases — Margaret Scripps Klenzing bought ~159,515 shares (~27% increase to her holding) at about $4.64, signaling material insider confidence that can support buying interest. SEC Filing - Margaret Scripps Klenzing
• Positive Sentiment: Additional coordinated buys by major shareholders (Corina S. Granado ~79,758 shares; Eaton M. Scripps ~41,017 shares; Anthony S. Granado and Elizabeth Scripps multiple purchases) reinforce the bullish insider signal — suggests insiders are accumulating around the mid‑$4s. (Corina SEC filing: Read More.; Eaton filing: Read More.; Elizabeth filing: Read More..)
• Positive Sentiment: Broker consensus target implies upside — analysts’ average price target reported at $6.95, materially above current trading levels, which can attract investors seeking upside if execution improves. E.W. Scripps Company The) (NASDAQ: SSP Receives $6.95 Average Price Target from Brokerages
• Neutral Sentiment: Short‑interest data in the reports is inconsistent and shows zero shares/NaN changes — treat short‑pressure signals as unreliable until an exchange‑confirmed short interest report is available; no clear short squeeze or added downward pressure can be inferred from these snapshots.
• Negative Sentiment: Recent fundamentals are a headwind — Scripps missed Q4 EPS expectations (reported ($0.06) vs. consensus ~$0.46 on Feb. 25) and carries a high debt/equity ratio (~3.13). Those items increase downside risk if revenue or margins don’t improve. (See company earnings disclosure and MarketBeat summary for details.)

Hedge Funds Weigh In On E.W. Scripps

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its position in shares of E.W. Scripps by 22.6% in the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 4,722,317 shares of the company's stock worth $18,842,000 after buying an additional 871,159 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its stake in E.W. Scripps by 1.7% during the fourth quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 3,671,714 shares of the company's stock worth $14,650,000 after acquiring an additional 60,729 shares in the last quarter. Penn Capital Management Company LLC boosted its stake in E.W. Scripps by 151.7% during the third 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. Gamco Investors INC. ET AL grew its holdings in E.W. Scripps by 0.7% in the fourth quarter. Gamco Investors INC. ET AL now owns 2,442,039 shares of the company's stock worth $9,744,000 after purchasing an additional 16,359 shares during the period. Finally, New York State Common Retirement Fund lifted its holdings in shares of 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 valued at $5,705,000 after purchasing an additional 1,361,721 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 67.81% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts recently issued reports on the company. Benchmark raised their target price on E.W. Scripps from $8.00 to $10.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, February 27th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on E.W. Scripps from $3.00 to $3.90 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Thursday, January 22nd. Guggenheim reiterated a "neutral" rating on shares of E.W. Scripps in a report on Friday. Weiss Ratings restated a "sell (d+)" rating on shares of E.W. Scripps in a report on Monday, December 22nd. Finally, 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. One analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, two have given a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, E.W. Scripps currently has a consensus rating of "Reduce" and an average target price of $6.95.

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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