The E.W. Scripps Company (NASDAQ:SSP) Short Interest Down 26.6% in April

The E.W. Scripps Company (NASDAQ:SSP - Get Free Report) was the recipient of a significant drop in short interest during the month of April. As of April 15th, there was short interest totalling 3,910,000 shares, a drop of 26.6% from the March 31st total of 5,330,000 shares. Currently, 6.4% of the company's shares are sold short. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 1,100,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 3.6 days.

E.W. Scripps Trading Up 0.3 %

Shares of NASDAQ:SSP traded up $0.01 on Friday, reaching $3.70. 379,322 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,586,539. The business's 50-day simple moving average is $3.95 and its 200 day simple moving average is $6.04. E.W. Scripps has a 52 week low of $2.93 and a 52 week high of $11.02. The stock has a market capitalization of $313.83 million, a P/E ratio of -0.31 and a beta of 1.93. The company has a current ratio of 1.41, a quick ratio of 1.41 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.91.

E.W. Scripps (NASDAQ:SSP - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Friday, February 23rd. The company reported ($0.02) earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.46 by ($0.48). The firm had revenue of $615.77 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $593.00 million. E.W. Scripps had a positive return on equity of 1.81% and a negative net margin of 41.33%. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that E.W. Scripps will post 0.74 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Separately, Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price objective on E.W. Scripps from $9.00 to $7.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, February 9th.

Institutional Trading of E.W. Scripps

A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of SSP. Cove Street Capital LLC boosted its holdings in shares of E.W. Scripps by 124.1% during the third quarter. Cove Street Capital LLC now owns 2,932,656 shares of the company's stock worth $14,781,000 after purchasing an additional 1,623,777 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of E.W. Scripps by 21.2% during the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,203,306 shares of the company's stock worth $9,614,000 after purchasing an additional 210,673 shares during the period. Kennedy Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in E.W. Scripps by 15.1% in the third quarter. Kennedy Capital Management LLC now owns 1,566,248 shares of the company's stock worth $8,583,000 after buying an additional 205,143 shares during the period. Ariston Services Group purchased a new stake in E.W. Scripps in the fourth quarter worth about $1,500,000. Finally, Assenagon Asset Management S.A. purchased a new stake in E.W. Scripps in the fourth quarter worth about $1,032,000. 67.81% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.