E.W. Scripps (NASDAQ:SSP) Raised to "Hold" at Wall Street Zen

Key Points

• Wall Street Zen upgraded E.W. Scripps from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating, indicating a more optimistic outlook for the stock.
• Wells Fargo & Company lowered its target price for E.W. Scripps from $4.00 to $3.00, maintaining an "equal weight" rating.
• E.W. Scripps reported a quarterly loss of ($0.12) earnings per share, missing expectations, with total revenue of $540.08 million for the quarter.

E.W. Scripps (NASDAQ:SSP - Get Free Report) was upgraded by investment analysts at Wall Street Zen from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report issued on Saturday.

Separately, Wells Fargo & Company decreased their target price on E.W. Scripps from $4.00 to $3.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, August 11th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has assigned a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $5.50.

E.W. Scripps Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:SSP traded down $0.12 during trading on Friday, reaching $2.98. The company had a trading volume of 45,899 shares, compared to its average volume of 973,868. The firm has a market capitalization of $262.78 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 6.22 and a beta of 1.01. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.92, a current ratio of 1.27 and a quick ratio of 1.27. The stock's fifty day moving average price is $3.17 and its 200 day moving average price is $2.59. E.W. Scripps has a fifty-two week low of $1.36 and a fifty-two week high of $4.17.

E.W. Scripps (NASDAQ:SSP - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 7th. The company reported ($0.12) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.04) by ($0.08). The company had revenue of $540.08 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $544.17 million. E.W. Scripps had a net margin of 4.25% and a return on equity of 17.68%. As a group, equities research analysts predict that E.W. Scripps will post 1.07 EPS for the current year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Prudential Financial Inc. lifted its holdings in E.W. Scripps by 2.4% during the 2nd quarter. Prudential Financial Inc. now owns 182,344 shares of the company's stock worth $536,000 after buying an additional 4,342 shares in the last quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. raised its position in E.W. Scripps by 111.8% during the first quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 8,931 shares of the company's stock worth $26,000 after acquiring an additional 4,715 shares during the last quarter. Chicago Partners Investment Group LLC raised its position in shares of E.W. Scripps by 28.9% in the second quarter. Chicago Partners Investment Group LLC now owns 21,121 shares of the company's stock valued at $62,000 after buying an additional 4,730 shares during the last quarter. Two Sigma Securities LLC grew its stake in E.W. Scripps by 32.9% during the fourth quarter. Two Sigma Securities LLC now owns 23,489 shares of the company's stock worth $52,000 after buying an additional 5,811 shares during the period. Finally, ProShare Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of E.W. Scripps by 50.8% in the fourth quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC now owns 17,268 shares of the company's stock valued at $38,000 after purchasing an additional 5,819 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 67.81% of the company's stock.

E.W. Scripps Company 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.