E.W. Scripps (NASDAQ:SSP) Rating Increased to Hold at Wall Street Zen

Key Points

• Wall Street Zen upgraded E.W. Scripps to “Hold,” while the broader analyst consensus remains “Hold,” with one Buy, three Hold and one Sell rating and an average price target of $5.95.
• SSP opened at $2.81, near its 52-week low of $2.02, with a market capitalization of approximately $257 million. The company reported a quarterly loss of $0.20 per share, beating estimates for a $0.52 loss, on revenue of $516.87 million.
• Insider selling has been notable: insiders sold 326,675 shares worth about $1.12 million over the past 90 days, while institutional investors own 67.81% of the company.

E.W. Scripps (NASDAQ:SSP - Get Free Report) was upgraded by investment analysts at Wall Street Zen to a "hold" rating in a research report issued to clients and investors on Saturday.

Several other research analysts also recently commented on SSP. Benchmark decreased their price objective on E.W. Scripps from $10.00 to $8.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, May 11th. Weiss Ratings restated a "sell (d)" rating on shares of E.W. Scripps in a report on Friday, May 29th. Finally, Zacks Research upgraded E.W. Scripps from a "strong sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 28th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, three have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, E.W. Scripps currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $5.95.

E.W. Scripps Price Performance

SSP stock opened at $2.81 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $257.23 million, a P/E ratio of -1.52 and a beta of 0.65. The firm's fifty day moving average is $3.08 and its 200 day moving average is $3.59. E.W. Scripps has a 52 week low of $2.02 and a 52 week high of $5.39. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.08, a quick ratio of 1.58 and a current ratio of 1.58.

E.W. Scripps (NASDAQ:SSP - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Friday, May 8th. The company reported ($0.20) earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of ($0.52) by $0.32. E.W. Scripps had a negative net margin of 4.63% and a negative return on equity of 0.56%. The business had revenue of $516.87 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $516.86 million. Research analysts predict that E.W. Scripps will post 0.22 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity at E.W. Scripps

In other news, major shareholder Molly E. Mccabe sold 142,970 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, May 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $3.48, for a total transaction of $497,535.60. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 123,523 shares in the company, valued at approximately $429,860.04. This represents a 53.65% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Insiders have sold 326,675 shares of company stock worth $1,117,887 over the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 5.24% of the company's stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Bank of America Corp DE grew its position in shares of E.W. Scripps by 13.9% in the 1st quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 71,890 shares of the company's stock worth $267,000 after buying an additional 8,746 shares during the last quarter. Empowered Funds LLC raised its holdings in shares of E.W. Scripps by 9.9% during the first quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 469,174 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,745,000 after acquiring an additional 42,138 shares in the last quarter. Rangeley Capital LLC bought a new position in shares of E.W. Scripps during the first quarter valued at approximately $318,000. Gabelli Funds LLC lifted its stake in E.W. Scripps by 23.2% in the first quarter. Gabelli Funds LLC now owns 1,375,524 shares of the company's stock worth $5,117,000 after acquiring an additional 258,908 shares during the period. Finally, GABELLI & Co INVESTMENT ADVISERS INC. lifted its stake in E.W. Scripps by 233.3% in the first quarter. GABELLI & Co INVESTMENT ADVISERS INC. now owns 241,500 shares of the company's stock worth $898,000 after acquiring an additional 169,050 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 67.81% of the company's stock.

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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