E.W. Scripps (NASDAQ:SSP) Major Shareholder Eaton Scripps Purchases 30,993 Shares

E.W. Scripps Company (The) (NASDAQ:SSP) major shareholder Eaton Scripps purchased 30,993 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 5th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $4.43 per share, for a total transaction of $137,298.99. Following the completion of the purchase, the insider owned 1,347,168 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,967,954.24. This represents a 2.35% increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Large shareholders that own at least 10% of a company’s shares are required to disclose their sales and purchases with the SEC.

E.W. Scripps Price Performance

SSP stock traded up $0.16 on Friday, reaching $4.57. 1,401,285 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 539,685. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $3.68 and a 200-day moving average of $3.37. The firm has a market cap of $405.82 million, a PE ratio of -2.44 and a beta of 0.54. The company has a quick ratio of 1.61, a current ratio of 1.65 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.13. E.W. Scripps Company has a twelve month low of $1.36 and a twelve month high of $4.98.

E.W. Scripps (NASDAQ:SSP) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, February 25th. The company reported ($0.06) EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.46 by ($0.52). The business had revenue of $560.26 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $550.82 million. E.W. Scripps had a negative net margin of 4.69% and a negative return on equity of 0.27%. As a group, equities analysts predict that E.W. Scripps Company will post 1.07 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Trending Headlines about E.W. Scripps

Here are the key news stories impacting E.W. Scripps this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Leadership and directors buying shares — CEO Adam Symson bought 26,910 shares (~$3.69 avg) and multiple directors (Charles Barmonde, Monica Holcomb) added positions, signaling management confidence and reducing available float. Read More.
• Positive Sentiment: Major shareholder materially increased stake — Corina S. Granado bought large blocks (260,000 shares at ~$3.91 on Mar 3 and ~70k shares at ~$4.17 on Mar 4), pushing her above the 10% threshold; that is a high-visibility vote of confidence and may tighten free float. Read More.
• Positive Sentiment: Small strategic acquisition — Scripps agreed to buy WTVQ (Lexington, KY) for $15.8M, a targeted TV-market add that should modestly expand local ad reach and revenue potential. Read More.
• Neutral Sentiment: Short-interest data looks effectively zero but appears noisy/rounded — the report shows no meaningful short-interest and is unlikely to be a primary driver of price action. Read More.
• Negative Sentiment: Recent fundamentals remain a concern — the Feb. 25 quarter missed EPS expectations (reported ($0.06) vs. $0.46 expected) and showed negative margins/ROE; sustained upside depends on margin recovery and execution. Read More.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On E.W. Scripps

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Empowered Funds LLC raised its position in E.W. Scripps by 8.6% during the first quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 316,113 shares of the company’s stock worth $936,000 after acquiring an additional 25,070 shares during the last quarter. Strs Ohio acquired a new stake in shares of E.W. Scripps in the first quarter valued at approximately $117,000. Acadian Asset Management LLC increased its stake in shares of E.W. Scripps by 6.4% during the 2nd quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC now owns 1,231,807 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,618,000 after purchasing an additional 74,435 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC increased 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 purchasing an additional 10,957 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Bailard Inc. raised its position in shares of E.W. Scripps by 47.5% during the 2nd quarter. Bailard Inc. now owns 89,600 shares of the company’s stock worth $263,000 after purchasing an additional 28,858 shares during the last quarter. 67.81% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts recently commented on the stock. Weiss Ratings reissued a “sell (d+)” rating on shares of E.W. Scripps in a report on Monday, December 22nd. Benchmark lifted their price target on shares of E.W. Scripps from $8.00 to $10.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report 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. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on E.W. Scripps from $3.00 to $3.90 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, January 22nd. Finally, Guggenheim reaffirmed a “neutral” rating on shares of E.W. Scripps in a research note on Friday. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, two have assigned a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Reduce” and a consensus target price of $6.95.

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.