E.W. Scripps (NASDAQ:SSP) Major Shareholder Eaton Scripps Purchases 27,990 Shares

Key Points

• Eaton Scripps bought 27,990 shares at an average of $4.17 on March 4, raising its stake by 2.17% to 1,316,175 shares valued at about $5.49 million.
• Other insiders — including CEO Adam Symson, several directors, and major shareholder Corina Granado (who moved above 10%) — have also been buying large blocks, signaling management confidence and potentially tightening the free float.
• Despite insider buying, the company missed quarterly EPS estimates (reported −$0.06 vs. $0.46 expected) and shows negative margins/ROE, while analysts remain mixed with a MarketBeat consensus rating of "Reduce" and a $6.95 target.

E.W. Scripps Company (The) (NASDAQ:SSP - Get Free Report) major shareholder Eaton Scripps acquired 27,990 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 4th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $4.17 per share, with a total value of $116,718.30. Following the transaction, the insider owned 1,316,175 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,488,449.75. This trade represents a 2.17% increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Large shareholders that own 10% or more of a company's stock are required to disclose their sales and purchases with the SEC.

E.W. Scripps Stock Performance

E.W. Scripps stock traded up $0.16 during trading on Friday, reaching $4.57. The company had a trading volume of 1,401,285 shares, compared to its average volume of 549,543. The firm's 50-day simple moving average is $3.66 and its 200 day simple moving average is $3.36. E.W. Scripps Company has a 52 week low of $1.36 and a 52 week high of $4.98. The company has a current ratio of 1.65, a quick ratio of 1.61 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.13. The firm has a market capitalization of $405.83 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -2.44 and a beta of 0.54.

E.W. Scripps (NASDAQ:SSP - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data 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 during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $550.82 million. E.W. Scripps had a negative return on equity of 0.27% and a negative net margin of 4.69%. Sell-side analysts forecast that E.W. Scripps Company will post 1.07 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Key Stories Impacting E.W. Scripps

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

• Positive Sentiment: Leadership and directors buying shares — CEO Adam Symson bought 26,910 shares (~$3.69 avg) and multiple directors (Charles Barmonde, Monica Holcomb) added positions, signaling management confidence and reducing available float. Read More.
• Positive Sentiment: Major shareholder materially increased stake — Corina S. Granado bought large blocks (260,000 shares at ~$3.91 on Mar 3 and ~70k shares at ~$4.17 on Mar 4), pushing her above the 10% threshold; that is a high-visibility vote of confidence and may tighten free float. Read More.
• Positive Sentiment: Small strategic acquisition — Scripps agreed to buy WTVQ (Lexington, KY) for $15.8M, a targeted TV-market add that should modestly expand local ad reach and revenue potential. Read More.
• Neutral Sentiment: Short-interest data looks effectively zero but appears noisy/rounded — the report shows no meaningful short-interest and is unlikely to be a primary driver of price action. Read More.
• Negative Sentiment: Recent fundamentals remain a concern — the Feb. 25 quarter missed EPS expectations (reported ($0.06) vs. $0.46 expected) and showed negative margins/ROE; sustained upside depends on margin recovery and execution. Read More.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have recently commented on the stock. Zacks Research downgraded shares of E.W. Scripps from a "hold" rating to a "strong sell" rating in a research report on Friday, February 27th. Guggenheim reissued a "neutral" rating on shares of E.W. Scripps in a report on Friday. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on E.W. Scripps from $3.00 to $3.90 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Thursday, January 22nd. Weiss Ratings reissued a "sell (d+)" rating on shares of E.W. Scripps in a research note on Monday, December 22nd. Finally, Benchmark increased their price objective on shares of E.W. Scripps from $8.00 to $10.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, February 27th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, two have assigned a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, E.W. Scripps presently has an average rating of "Reduce" and a consensus target price of $6.95.

Institutional Trading of E.W. Scripps

Several hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in SSP. D Orazio & Associates Inc. bought a new position in shares of E.W. Scripps in the 3rd quarter valued at about $27,000. M&T Bank Corp bought a new stake in E.W. Scripps during the fourth quarter worth approximately $47,000. State of Alaska Department of Revenue purchased a new stake in E.W. Scripps during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $47,000. Franklin Resources Inc. purchased a new position in shares of E.W. Scripps in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $30,000. Finally, Pinnacle Associates Ltd. bought a new position in shares of E.W. Scripps during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $50,000. 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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