E.W. Scripps (NASDAQ:SSP) Releases Quarterly Earnings Results, Misses Expectations By $0.52 EPS

E.W. Scripps (NASDAQ:SSP) announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday. The company reported ($0.06) earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.46 by ($0.52), Zacks reports. E.W. Scripps had a return on equity of 9.82% and a net margin of 0.99%.

E.W. Scripps Trading Up 4.3%

Shares of SSP stock traded up $0.15 during trading hours on Wednesday, hitting $3.62. 499,572 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 434,666. The stock has a market cap of $321.46 million, a PE ratio of 12.85 and a beta of 0.62. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $3.71 and its 200 day simple moving average is $3.32. The company has a quick ratio of 1.61, a current ratio of 1.61 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.13. E.W. Scripps has a 12 month low of $1.36 and a 12 month high of $4.98.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several large investors have recently bought and sold shares of SSP. Franklin Resources Inc. bought a new stake in shares of E.W. Scripps in the 3rd quarter valued at about $30,000. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. lifted its stake in shares of E.W. Scripps by 67.1% in the third quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 14,923 shares of the company’s stock worth $37,000 after acquiring an additional 5,992 shares during the period. Oxford Asset Management LLP acquired a new position in shares of E.W. Scripps in the second quarter worth approximately $46,000. Bank of Montreal Can bought a new stake in E.W. Scripps in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $64,000. Finally, Squarepoint Ops LLC bought a new position in E.W. Scripps during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $42,000. 67.81% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages recently issued reports on SSP. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “sell (d+)” rating on shares of E.W. Scripps in a report on Monday, December 22nd. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on shares of 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. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, one has issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $5.95.

E.W. Scripps Company Profile

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.