E.W. Scripps (NASDAQ:SSP) Major Shareholder Buys $16,342.23 in Stock

E.W. Scripps Company (The) (NASDAQ:SSP) major shareholder Anthony Granado bought 3,919 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 4th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $4.17 per share, with a total value of $16,342.23. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 24,579 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $102,494.43. This trade represents a 18.97% increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Major shareholders that own more than 10% of a company’s shares are required to disclose their sales and purchases with the SEC.

E.W. Scripps Price Performance

Shares of SSP opened at $4.57 on Monday. The business’s 50-day moving average is $3.68 and its two-hundred day moving average is $3.38. The company has a market capitalization of $405.83 million, a P/E ratio of -2.44 and a beta of 0.54. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.13, a quick ratio of 1.65 and a current ratio of 1.65. E.W. Scripps Company has a fifty-two week low of $1.36 and a fifty-two week high of $4.98.

E.W. Scripps (NASDAQ:SSP) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 25th. The company reported ($0.06) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.46 by ($0.52). The company 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%. Research analysts predict that E.W. Scripps Company will post 1.07 earnings per share for the current year.

More E.W. Scripps News

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

A number of large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in SSP. D Orazio & Associates Inc. purchased a new position in E.W. Scripps during the third quarter valued at $27,000. Franklin Resources Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of E.W. Scripps during the third quarter worth about $30,000. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. raised its position in shares of E.W. Scripps by 67.1% during the 3rd quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 14,923 shares of the company’s stock worth $37,000 after purchasing an additional 5,992 shares during the last quarter. Squarepoint Ops LLC acquired a new position in shares of E.W. Scripps during the 3rd quarter worth about $42,000. Finally, NewEdge Advisors LLC purchased a new position in E.W. Scripps in the 3rd quarter valued at about $42,000. 67.81% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have issued reports on SSP. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on E.W. Scripps from $3.00 to $3.90 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, January 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. Weiss Ratings reissued a “sell (d+)” rating on shares of E.W. Scripps in a report on Monday, December 22nd. Finally, Guggenheim restated a “neutral” rating on shares of E.W. Scripps in a research report on Friday. One analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, two have given a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Reduce” and a consensus price target 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.