Analysts Set E.W. Scripps Company (The) (NASDAQ:SSP) Target Price at $6.95

Shares of E.W. Scripps Company (The) (NASDAQ:SSP) have been given a consensus rating of “Reduce” by the five brokerages that are covering the firm, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell recommendation, two have assigned a hold recommendation and one has assigned a buy recommendation to the company. The average twelve-month price objective among brokerages that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $6.95.

Several research analysts recently weighed in on SSP shares. Benchmark boosted their target price on E.W. Scripps from $8.00 to $10.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, February 27th. Guggenheim restated a “neutral” rating on shares of E.W. Scripps in a research note on Friday, March 6th. Zacks Research downgraded E.W. Scripps from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research note on Friday, February 27th. Weiss Ratings restated a “sell (d+)” rating on shares of E.W. Scripps in a research note on Monday, December 22nd. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price 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.

E.W. Scripps Trading Up 6.0%

SSP opened at $3.87 on Tuesday. The firm has a market cap of $344.55 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -2.07 and a beta of 0.57. The company has a current ratio of 1.65, a quick ratio of 1.65 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.13. E.W. Scripps has a 12 month low of $1.90 and a 12 month high of $4.98. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $3.70 and a 200-day moving average price of $3.50.

E.W. Scripps (NASDAQ:SSP) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 26th. The company reported ($0.06) 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 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%. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that E.W. Scripps will post 1.07 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other E.W. Scripps news, major shareholder Eaton M. Scripps bought 41,017 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 6th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $4.64 per share, for a total transaction of $190,318.88. Following the purchase, the insider directly owned 1,388,185 shares in the company, valued at $6,441,178.40. This represents a 3.04% increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, major shareholder Corina S. Granado bought 260,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 3rd. The shares were acquired at an average price of $3.91 per share, for a total transaction of $1,016,600.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the insider owned 590,275 shares in the company, valued at $2,307,975.25. The trade was a 78.72% increase in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this purchase provides additional information. Insiders have bought 1,332,085 shares of company stock valued at $5,733,766 in the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 3.62% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in SSP. D Orazio & Associates Inc. purchased a new stake in E.W. Scripps during the 3rd quarter valued at about $27,000. M&T Bank Corp purchased a new stake in E.W. Scripps during the 4th quarter valued at about $47,000. State of Alaska Department of Revenue purchased a new stake in E.W. Scripps during the 4th quarter valued at about $47,000. Franklin Resources Inc. purchased a new stake in E.W. Scripps during the 3rd quarter valued at about $30,000. Finally, Pinnacle Associates Ltd. purchased a new stake in E.W. Scripps during the 4th quarter valued at about $50,000. 67.81% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About E.W. Scripps

The E.W. Scripps Company 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.