Insider Buying: E.W. Scripps (NASDAQ:SSP) Director Acquires $22,876.56 in Stock

E.W. Scripps Company (The) (NASDAQ:SSP) Director Raymundo Jr. Granado acquired 4,984 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 10th. The shares were bought at an average price of $4.59 per share, with a total value of $22,876.56. Following the purchase, the director directly owned 80,998 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $371,780.82. The trade was a 6.56% increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink.

E.W. Scripps Trading Down 2.5%

NASDAQ SSP opened at $3.97 on Friday. E.W. Scripps Company has a 12 month low of $1.90 and a 12 month high of $4.98. The stock has a market cap of $352.54 million, a P/E ratio of -2.12 and a beta of 0.54. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $3.70 and its 200-day moving average price is $3.41. 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 (NASDAQ:SSP) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 25th. The company reported ($0.06) earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.46 by ($0.52). The company had revenue of $560.26 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate 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 forecast that E.W. Scripps Company will post 1.07 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

SSP has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Wells Fargo & Company lifted 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 report on Thursday, January 22nd. Benchmark increased their price target on shares of E.W. Scripps from $8.00 to $10.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, February 27th. Guggenheim reissued a “neutral” rating on shares of E.W. Scripps in a research report on Friday, March 6th. Weiss Ratings restated a “sell (d+)” rating on shares of E.W. Scripps in a report on Monday, December 22nd. Finally, Zacks Research cut E.W. Scripps from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research report on Friday, February 27th. One research 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, the company currently has an average rating of “Reduce” and an average price target of $6.95.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On E.W. Scripps

Hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. D Orazio & Associates Inc. bought a new position in E.W. Scripps during the 3rd quarter valued at about $27,000. Franklin Resources Inc. bought a new stake in shares of E.W. Scripps in the third quarter worth approximately $30,000. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. raised its holdings in shares of E.W. Scripps by 67.1% during the third quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 14,923 shares of the company’s stock valued at $37,000 after purchasing an additional 5,992 shares during the last quarter. Squarepoint Ops LLC purchased a new position in shares of E.W. Scripps during the third quarter valued at approximately $42,000. Finally, NewEdge Advisors LLC bought a new position in E.W. Scripps during the third quarter valued at approximately $42,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 67.81% of the company’s stock.

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.