E.W. Scripps (NASDAQ:SSP) Major Shareholder Acquires $80,280.00 in Stock

E.W. Scripps Company (The) (NASDAQ:SSP) major shareholder Ellen Granado acquired 18,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 10th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $4.46 per share, with a total value of $80,280.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 28,000 shares in the company, valued at approximately $124,880. This represents a 180.00% increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Major shareholders that own more than 10% of a company’s stock are required to disclose their transactions with the SEC.

E.W. Scripps Stock Down 5.2%

Shares of E.W. Scripps stock traded down $0.23 on Wednesday, hitting $4.17. 921,662 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 627,969. The company has a fifty day moving average of $3.70 and a two-hundred day moving average of $3.40. E.W. Scripps Company has a one year low of $1.72 and a one year high of $4.98. The company has a quick ratio of 1.65, a current ratio of 1.65 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.13.

E.W. Scripps (NASDAQ:SSP) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, February 25th. The company reported ($0.06) earnings per share 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 the consensus estimate of $550.82 million. E.W. Scripps had a negative return on equity of 0.27% and a negative net margin of 4.69%. Sell-side analysts anticipate that E.W. Scripps Company will post 1.07 earnings per share for the current year.

Key E.W. Scripps News

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

• Positive Sentiment: Analysts’ average price target of $6.95 implies meaningful upside versus the stock’s current trading range, supporting buyer interest. E.W. Scripps Company (The) (NASDAQ:SSP) Receives $6.95 Average Price Target from Brokerages
• Positive Sentiment: Large, high‑visibility insider purchase: major shareholder Margaret Scripps Klenzing bought 159,515 shares (~27% increase to her stake) at about $4.64 — a sizable vote of confidence that can attract other investors. SEC Filing – Margaret Scripps Klenzing
• Positive Sentiment: Multiple additional insider buys (Corina S. Granado, Eaton M. Scripps, Anthony S. Granado, Elizabeth Scripps and director Raymundo H. Jr. Granado made recent purchases totaling hundreds of thousands of shares across insiders), reinforcing the bullish signal from family/major holders. (See SEC filings for details.) Corina S. Granado SEC Filing Eaton M. Scripps SEC Filing Anthony S. Granado SEC Filing Elizabeth Scripps SEC Filing Raymundo H. Jr. Granado SEC Filing
• Neutral Sentiment: Short-interest numbers in the provided snapshot are inconsistent (showing 0 shares / NaN changes) and are unreliable as a near‑term signal until validated by an exchange short-interest report.
• Negative Sentiment: Company fundamentals remain mixed: SSP missed on EPS in the Feb. 25 quarter (reported $(0.06) vs. a consensus $0.46) and carries a high debt‑to‑equity ratio (~3.13), which are longer‑term headwinds that could cap upside absent improving margins or guidance. SSP Financials & Earnings

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Empowered Funds LLC increased its stake in E.W. Scripps by 8.6% in the 1st quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 316,113 shares of the company’s stock valued at $936,000 after buying an additional 25,070 shares during the last quarter. Strs Ohio bought a new position in shares of E.W. Scripps in the first quarter valued at approximately $117,000. Acadian Asset Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of E.W. Scripps by 6.4% in the second quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC now owns 1,231,807 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,618,000 after acquiring an additional 74,435 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its position in shares of E.W. Scripps by 0.7% during the second quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,516,298 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,459,000 after acquiring an additional 10,957 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Bailard Inc. lifted its holdings in E.W. Scripps by 47.5% during the second quarter. Bailard Inc. now owns 89,600 shares of the company’s stock worth $263,000 after acquiring an additional 28,858 shares during the period. 67.81% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Guggenheim reiterated a “neutral” rating on shares of E.W. Scripps in a report on Friday, March 6th. 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 research note on Thursday, January 22nd. Benchmark raised their price objective on E.W. Scripps from $8.00 to $10.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, February 27th. Zacks Research lowered E.W. Scripps from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research report on Friday, February 27th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reissued a “sell (d+)” rating on shares of E.W. Scripps in a research report on Monday, December 22nd. One analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, two have assigned a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Reduce” and an average 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.