The E.W. Scripps Company (NASDAQ:SSP) Short Interest Up 41.4% in March

The E.W. Scripps Company (NASDAQ:SSP - Get Free Report) was the target of a large growth in short interest in the month of March. As of March 15th, there was short interest totalling 4,680,000 shares, a growth of 41.4% from the February 29th total of 3,310,000 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 654,600 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 7.1 days. Approximately 7.7% of the company's shares are short sold.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Separately, Wells Fargo & Company cut their target price on shares of E.W. Scripps from $9.00 to $7.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, February 9th.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On E.W. Scripps

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. UBS Group AG boosted its position in shares of E.W. Scripps by 6.2% in the 4th quarter. UBS Group AG now owns 16,022 shares of the company's stock worth $211,000 after purchasing an additional 929 shares in the last quarter. FMR LLC boosted its holdings in E.W. Scripps by 46.8% in the second quarter. FMR LLC now owns 3,109 shares of the company's stock worth $39,000 after acquiring an additional 991 shares in the last quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD increased its holdings in shares of E.W. Scripps by 3.0% during the second quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 34,371 shares of the company's stock valued at $429,000 after acquiring an additional 995 shares in the last quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company increased its holdings in shares of E.W. Scripps by 4.7% during the second quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 24,933 shares of the company's stock valued at $228,000 after acquiring an additional 1,111 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Stifel Financial Corp raised its position in shares of E.W. Scripps by 11.8% in the 2nd quarter. Stifel Financial Corp now owns 11,941 shares of the company's stock worth $109,000 after purchasing an additional 1,263 shares during the last quarter. 67.81% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

E.W. Scripps Trading Down 0.8 %

NASDAQ SSP traded down $0.03 on Friday, hitting $3.93. The company's stock had a trading volume of 2,655,994 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,151,669. The company has a current ratio of 1.41, a quick ratio of 1.41 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.91. The firm has a market cap of $333.34 million, a P/E ratio of -0.33 and a beta of 1.94. The company's 50-day simple moving average is $5.50 and its 200 day simple moving average is $6.37. E.W. Scripps has a 52-week low of $3.39 and a 52-week high of $11.02.

E.W. Scripps (NASDAQ:SSP - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Friday, February 23rd. The company reported ($0.02) EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.46 by ($0.48). E.W. Scripps had a positive return on equity of 1.81% and a negative net margin of 41.33%. The company had revenue of $615.77 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $593.00 million. Research analysts predict that E.W. Scripps will post 0.74 EPS for the current fiscal year.

About E.W. Scripps

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.