E.W. Scripps (NASDAQ:SSP) Major Shareholder Acquires 41,017 Shares

Key Points

• Eaton Scripps, a major shareholder, acquired 41,017 shares of E.W. Scripps at an average price of $4.64 on March 6, spending $190,318.88 and raising their direct stake to 1,388,185 shares (a 3.04% increase), per an SEC filing.
• E.W. Scripps stock fell about 4.3% to $4.40 on heavy volume after the company reported a QEPS of -$0.06 (missing estimates) despite revenue of $560.26M, and analysts remain mixed — MarketBeat's consensus rating is "Reduce" with a $6.95 price target.

E.W. Scripps Company (The) (NASDAQ:SSP - Get Free Report) major shareholder Eaton Scripps acquired 41,017 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 6th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $4.64 per share, for a total transaction of $190,318.88. Following the purchase, the insider directly owned 1,388,185 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $6,441,178.40. This trade represents a 3.04% increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Large shareholders that own more than 10% of a company's stock are required to disclose their sales and purchases with the SEC.

E.W. Scripps Stock Down 4.3%

E.W. Scripps stock traded down $0.20 during midday trading on Tuesday, hitting $4.40. 1,133,842 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 575,071. E.W. Scripps Company has a 1 year low of $1.36 and a 1 year high of $4.98. The firm has a market cap of $390.72 million, a P/E ratio of -2.35 and a beta of 0.53. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.13, a current ratio of 1.65 and a quick ratio of 1.65. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $3.69 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $3.39.

E.W. Scripps (NASDAQ:SSP - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, February 25th. The company reported ($0.06) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.46 by ($0.52). E.W. Scripps had a negative return on equity of 0.27% and a negative net margin of 4.69%.The business had revenue of $560.26 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $550.82 million. On average, sell-side analysts predict that E.W. Scripps Company will post 1.07 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Benchmark upped their target price on shares of E.W. Scripps from $8.00 to $10.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, February 27th. Zacks Research downgraded E.W. Scripps from a "hold" rating to a "strong sell" rating in a research note on Friday, February 27th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on E.W. Scripps from $3.00 to $3.90 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Thursday, January 22nd. Weiss Ratings restated 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. One analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, two have given a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, E.W. Scripps presently has a consensus rating of "Reduce" and a consensus price target of $6.95.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On E.W. Scripps

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Empowered Funds LLC lifted its stake in E.W. Scripps by 8.6% in the first quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 316,113 shares of the company's stock valued at $936,000 after buying an additional 25,070 shares during the last quarter. Strs Ohio bought a new position in shares of E.W. Scripps during the first quarter worth about $117,000. Acadian Asset Management LLC grew its position in shares of E.W. Scripps by 6.4% during the second quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC now owns 1,231,807 shares of the company's stock worth $3,618,000 after acquiring an additional 74,435 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of E.W. Scripps by 0.7% in the 2nd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,516,298 shares of the company's stock worth $4,459,000 after acquiring an additional 10,957 shares during the period. Finally, Bailard Inc. increased its holdings in shares of E.W. Scripps by 47.5% in the 2nd quarter. Bailard Inc. now owns 89,600 shares of the company's stock worth $263,000 after acquiring an additional 28,858 shares during the period. 67.81% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.

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