Insider Buying: E.W. Scripps (NASDAQ:SSP) Major Shareholder Buys $291,799.92 in Stock

Key Points

• Corina Granado, a major shareholder, purchased 69,976 shares of E.W. Scripps at $4.17 each on March 4 for $291,799.92, boosting her stake 11.85% to 660,251 shares (about $2.75M) per an SEC filing.
• E.W. Scripps' latest quarter (Feb. 25) showed ($0.06) EPS, missing estimates by $0.52, while revenue of $560.3M slightly beat expectations and the company reported negative net margin and ROE.
• The stock traded at $4.41 with volume well above average and a market cap near $392M; analyst coverage is mixed but the consensus rating is "Reduce" with an average price target of $6.95.

E.W. Scripps Company (The) (NASDAQ:SSP - Get Free Report) major shareholder Corina Granado acquired 69,976 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 4th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $4.17 per share, with a total value of $291,799.92. Following the completion of the purchase, the insider owned 660,251 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,753,246.67. This trade represents a 11.85% increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. Major shareholders that own more than 10% of a company's stock are required to disclose their sales and purchases with the SEC.

E.W. Scripps Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:SSP traded up $0.30 during midday trading on Thursday, reaching $4.41. The company's stock had a trading volume of 1,434,807 shares, compared to its average volume of 529,694. The company has a quick ratio of 1.61, a current ratio of 1.65 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.13. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $3.65 and a 200 day moving average of $3.36. E.W. Scripps Company has a twelve month low of $1.36 and a twelve month high of $4.98. The firm has a market capitalization of $391.61 million, a PE ratio of -2.36 and a beta of 0.54.

E.W. Scripps (NASDAQ:SSP - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 25th. The company reported ($0.06) EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.46 by ($0.52). The business had revenue of $560.26 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $550.82 million. E.W. Scripps had a negative net margin of 4.69% and a negative return on equity of 0.27%. On average, equities analysts expect that E.W. Scripps Company will post 1.07 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

SSP has been the topic of several analyst reports. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a "sell (d+)" rating on shares of E.W. Scripps in a report on Monday, December 22nd. Zacks Research lowered shares of E.W. Scripps from a "hold" rating to a "strong sell" rating in a report on Friday, February 27th. Benchmark boosted their target price on shares of E.W. Scripps from $8.00 to $10.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, February 27th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on shares of 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. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, one has assigned a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Reduce" and an average price target of $6.95.

Institutional Trading of E.W. Scripps

Several institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of SSP. Penn Capital Management Company LLC increased its position in shares of 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 buying an additional 2,169,640 shares in the last quarter. New York State Common Retirement Fund grew its stake in E.W. Scripps by 142.3% in the 3rd quarter. New York State Common Retirement Fund now owns 2,318,987 shares of the company's stock valued at $5,705,000 after acquiring an additional 1,361,721 shares during the period. Russell Investments Group Ltd. increased its holdings in E.W. Scripps by 886.8% in 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. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised 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 acquiring an additional 871,159 shares during the period. Finally, Federated Hermes Inc. raised its position in E.W. Scripps by 82.5% during the fourth quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. now owns 815,751 shares of the company's stock worth $3,255,000 after acquiring an additional 368,852 shares during the period. 67.81% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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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