JPMorgan Chase & Co. Decreases Holdings in E.W. Scripps Company (The) $SSP

JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased its position in shares of E.W. Scripps Company (The) (NASDAQ:SSP - Free Report) by 72.9% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 140,628 shares of the company's stock after selling 378,675 shares during the quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. owned 0.16% of E.W. Scripps worth $346,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Penn Capital Management Company LLC boosted its stake in shares of E.W. Scripps by 151.7% during the 3rd quarter. Penn Capital Management Company LLC now owns 3,599,606 shares of the company's stock worth $8,864,000 after acquiring an additional 2,169,640 shares in the last quarter. New York State Common Retirement Fund boosted its stake in shares of E.W. Scripps by 142.3% during the 3rd quarter. New York State Common Retirement Fund now owns 2,318,987 shares of the company's stock worth $5,705,000 after acquiring an additional 1,361,721 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of E.W. Scripps by 0.7% during 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 in the last quarter. Minerva Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of E.W. Scripps by 10.0% during the 3rd quarter. Minerva Advisors LLC now owns 1,385,920 shares of the company's stock worth $3,409,000 after acquiring an additional 126,078 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Russell Investments Group Ltd. boosted its stake in shares of E.W. Scripps by 886.8% during the 3rd quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 1,280,898 shares of the company's stock worth $3,151,000 after acquiring an additional 1,151,092 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 67.81% of the company's stock.

E.W. Scripps Trading Up 1.9%

Shares of E.W. Scripps stock opened at $4.37 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.13, a current ratio of 1.65 and a quick ratio of 1.65. E.W. Scripps Company has a 1 year low of $1.90 and a 1 year high of $4.98. The company has a market capitalization of $389.06 million, a P/E ratio of -2.34 and a beta of 0.57. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $3.78 and a 200 day moving average price of $3.55.

E.W. Scripps (NASDAQ:SSP - Get Free Report) last issued 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 company had revenue of $560.26 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $550.82 million. Sell-side analysts anticipate that E.W. Scripps Company will post 1.07 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have recently commented on the company. Benchmark boosted their price target on E.W. Scripps from $8.00 to $10.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, February 27th. Zacks Research lowered E.W. Scripps from a "hold" rating to a "strong sell" rating in a research note on Friday, February 27th. Weiss Ratings reissued a "sell (d+)" rating on shares of E.W. Scripps in a research note on Monday, December 22nd. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target 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. Finally, Guggenheim reissued a "neutral" rating on shares of E.W. Scripps in a research note on Friday, March 6th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, two have issued a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Reduce" and a consensus target price of $6.95.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, major shareholder Margaret Scripps Klenzing acquired 159,515 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 6th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $4.64 per share, for a total transaction of $740,149.60. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 741,978 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $3,442,777.92. This trade represents a 27.39% increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, major shareholder Corina S. Granado acquired 260,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 3rd. The shares were bought at an average price of $3.91 per share, with a total value of $1,016,600.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 590,275 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,307,975.25. The trade was a 78.72% increase in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this purchase provides additional information. Over the last 90 days, insiders have bought 1,332,085 shares of company stock valued at $5,733,766. 5.24% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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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