E.W. Scripps (NASDAQ:SSP) Cut to "Sell" at Wall Street Zen

Key Points

• E.W. Scripps has been dropped from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating by Wall Street Zen, indicating a negative outlook on the stock.
• Wells Fargo increased its price target on the stock from $2.80 to $4.00, while maintaining an "equal weight" rating.
• The company's shares recently opened at $2.52, reflecting a 10.3% decline, and it has a market capitalization of $221.03 million.

E.W. Scripps (NASDAQ:SSP - Get Free Report) was downgraded by equities researchers at Wall Street Zen from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research note issued on Sunday.

Separately, Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on E.W. Scripps from $2.80 to $4.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 15th.

E.W. Scripps Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:SSP traded up $0.58 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $3.16. The company had a trading volume of 2,195,782 shares, compared to its average volume of 995,143. E.W. Scripps has a twelve month low of $1.36 and a twelve month high of $4.17. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.97, a current ratio of 1.27 and a quick ratio of 1.36. The stock has a market cap of $277.16 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 6.58 and a beta of 1.01. The business's 50-day simple moving average is $3.04 and its 200-day simple moving average is $2.50.

E.W. Scripps (NASDAQ:SSP - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 7th. The company reported ($0.12) earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of ($0.04) by ($0.08). E.W. Scripps had a net margin of 4.25% and a return on equity of 15.79%. The firm had revenue of $540.08 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $544.17 million. On average, research analysts predict that E.W. Scripps will post 1.07 earnings per share for the current year.

Institutional Trading of E.W. Scripps

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in SSP. American Century Companies Inc. increased its position in E.W. Scripps by 11.5% during the 4th quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 120,568 shares of the company's stock worth $266,000 after purchasing an additional 12,422 shares during the period. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted its stake in shares of E.W. Scripps by 428.7% during the 4th quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 497,862 shares of the company's stock worth $1,100,000 after acquiring an additional 403,691 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of E.W. Scripps by 1.9% during the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,468,827 shares of the company's stock worth $3,247,000 after acquiring an additional 26,683 shares in the last quarter. Wells Fargo & Company MN lifted its stake in E.W. Scripps by 25.4% in the 4th quarter. Wells Fargo & Company MN now owns 36,592 shares of the company's stock valued at $81,000 after buying an additional 7,418 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Federated Hermes Inc. lifted its stake in E.W. Scripps by 31.3% in the 4th quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. now owns 467,596 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,033,000 after buying an additional 111,504 shares in the last quarter. 67.81% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

E.W. Scripps Company Profile

The E.W. Scripps Company, together with its subsidiaries, operates as a media enterprise through a portfolio of local television stations, national news, and entertainment networks in the United States. It operates through Local Media, Scripps Networks, and Other segments. The Local Media segment operates broadcast television stations, which produce news, information, sports, and entertainment content, as well as its related digital operations; runs network, syndicated, and original programming, and local sporting events; and provides core and political advertising services.