Jefferies Financial Group Inc. Makes New Investment in The E.W. Scripps Company (NASDAQ:SSP)

Jefferies Financial Group Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of The E.W. Scripps Company (NASDAQ:SSP - Free Report) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor purchased 131,577 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $291,000. Jefferies Financial Group Inc. owned approximately 0.15% of E.W. Scripps at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Heron Bay Capital Management bought a new position in shares of E.W. Scripps during the 4th quarter valued at $25,000. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company bought a new position in E.W. Scripps in the fourth quarter valued at about $25,000. WINTON GROUP Ltd bought a new position in E.W. Scripps in the fourth quarter valued at about $30,000. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC boosted its position in E.W. Scripps by 137.3% in the fourth quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC now owns 13,700 shares of the company's stock worth $30,000 after purchasing an additional 7,927 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Group One Trading LLC grew its stake in shares of E.W. Scripps by 479.9% during the 4th quarter. Group One Trading LLC now owns 13,998 shares of the company's stock valued at $31,000 after purchasing an additional 11,584 shares during the period. 67.81% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Separately, Benchmark upped their price target on shares of E.W. Scripps from $7.00 to $8.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, March 13th.

E.W. Scripps Stock Performance

Shares of SSP stock traded down $0.06 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, reaching $2.28. 410,405 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 904,531. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.41, a quick ratio of 1.34 and a current ratio of 1.34. The firm has a market capitalization of $199.98 million, a PE ratio of -0.74 and a beta of 1.01. The E.W. Scripps Company has a 12 month low of $1.36 and a 12 month high of $4.06. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $2.49 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $2.18.

E.W. Scripps (NASDAQ:SSP - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Thursday, May 8th. The company reported ($0.18) earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of ($0.23) by $0.05. The company had revenue of $524.39 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $520.04 million. E.W. Scripps had a positive return on equity of 9.40% and a negative net margin of 8.55%. On average, research analysts forecast that The E.W. Scripps Company will post 1.07 EPS for the current year.

E.W. Scripps 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.