E.W. Scripps (NASDAQ:SSP) Raised to Hold at Zacks Research

Key Points

• Zacks Research upgraded E.W. Scripps from a "strong sell" to a "hold"; the stock's consensus rating is currently Hold with an average analyst target of $6.95 (1 Buy, 3 Hold, 1 Sell) and several brokers have recently raised price targets.
• The company reported revenue of $560.26 million (beat estimates) but an EPS loss of ($0.06) versus a $0.46 estimate, leaving margins and ROE negative; the stock trades around $4.46 with a market cap of about $397 million and a 12‑month range of $1.90–$5.39.
• Insiders have been buying aggressively, acquiring 1,332,085 shares (~$5.73 million) in the last 90 days and now own 5.24% of the company, while institutional investors hold about 67.81%.

E.W. Scripps (NASDAQ:SSP - Get Free Report) was upgraded by equities researchers at Zacks Research from a "strong sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note issued on Tuesday,Zacks.com reports.

Several other brokerages have also recently weighed in on SSP. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on E.W. Scripps from $3.00 to $3.90 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Thursday, January 22nd. Guggenheim reiterated a "neutral" rating on shares of E.W. Scripps in a research report on Friday, March 6th. Finally, Benchmark lifted their price target on E.W. Scripps from $8.00 to $10.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, February 27th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, three have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $6.95.

E.W. Scripps Price Performance

SSP opened at $4.46 on Tuesday. E.W. Scripps has a 12-month low of $1.90 and a 12-month high of $5.39. The company has a market capitalization of $397.07 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -2.39 and a beta of 0.57. The company has a current ratio of 1.65, a quick ratio of 1.65 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.13. The business's fifty day simple moving average is $4.07 and its 200-day simple moving average is $3.73.

E.W. Scripps (NASDAQ:SSP - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 26th. The company reported ($0.06) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate 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 firm had revenue of $560.26 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $550.82 million. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that E.W. Scripps will post 0.92 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, major shareholder Margaret Scripps Klenzing acquired 159,515 shares of E.W. Scripps stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 6th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $4.64 per share, for a total transaction of $740,149.60. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 741,978 shares in the company, valued at $3,442,777.92. This represents a 27.39% increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, major shareholder Samantha J. Brickner acquired 63,955 shares of E.W. Scripps stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 9th. The shares were bought at an average price of $4.43 per share, for a total transaction of $283,320.65. Following the transaction, the insider owned 64,021 shares of the company's stock, valued at $283,613.03. This represents a 96,901.52% increase in their position. The SEC filing for this purchase provides additional information. Insiders have purchased a total of 1,332,085 shares of company stock valued at $5,733,766 in the last ninety days. Insiders own 5.24% of the company's stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On E.W. Scripps

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its position in E.W. Scripps by 22.6% during the fourth 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 in the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its position in E.W. Scripps by 1.7% in the fourth quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 3,671,714 shares of the company's stock valued at $14,650,000 after purchasing an additional 60,729 shares during the period. Penn Capital Management Company LLC raised its position in E.W. Scripps by 151.7% in the third quarter. Penn Capital Management Company LLC now owns 3,599,606 shares of the company's stock valued at $8,864,000 after purchasing an additional 2,169,640 shares during the period. Gamco Investors INC. ET AL raised its position 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 valued at $9,744,000 after purchasing an additional 16,359 shares during the period. Finally, New York State Common Retirement Fund raised its position in E.W. Scripps by 142.3% in 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 period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 67.81% of the company's stock.

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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