E.W. Scripps Company (The) (NASDAQ:SSP) Receives Consensus Recommendation of “Hold” from Analysts

E.W. Scripps Company (The) (NASDAQ:SSP) has received a consensus recommendation of “Hold” from the five research firms that are presently covering the firm, MarketBeat.com reports. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating and one has given a buy rating to the company. The average twelve-month price target among brokers that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $5.95.

SSP has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on E.W. Scripps from $3.00 to $3.90 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 22nd. Guggenheim reaffirmed a “neutral” rating on shares of E.W. Scripps in a research note on Friday, March 6th. Benchmark decreased their price objective on E.W. Scripps from $10.00 to $8.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, May 11th. Finally, Zacks Research raised shares of E.W. Scripps from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 28th.

Insider Activity

In other news, major shareholder Eaton M. Scripps acquired 41,017 shares of E.W. Scripps stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 6th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $4.64 per share, with a total value of $190,318.88. Following the completion of the purchase, the insider owned 1,388,185 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,441,178.40. This represents a 3.04% increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, major shareholder Margaret Scripps Klenzing bought 159,515 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 6th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $4.64 per share, with a total value of $740,149.60. Following the completion of the purchase, the insider directly owned 741,978 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,442,777.92. The trade was a 27.39% increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase is available in the SEC filing. Over the last ninety days, insiders acquired 1,333,347 shares of company stock worth $5,738,221. 5.24% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On E.W. Scripps

Institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. D Orazio & Associates Inc. acquired a new position in E.W. Scripps in the third quarter valued at $27,000. Franklin Resources Inc. acquired a new position in E.W. Scripps in the third quarter valued at $30,000. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. increased its stake in 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 valued at $37,000 after purchasing an additional 5,992 shares during the last quarter. Squarepoint Ops LLC purchased a new stake in E.W. Scripps in the third quarter valued at approximately $42,000. Finally, NewEdge Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in E.W. Scripps in the third quarter valued at approximately $42,000. 67.81% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

E.W. Scripps Trading Down 7.7%

Shares of SSP opened at $3.23 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.08, a current ratio of 1.58 and a quick ratio of 1.58. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $4.10 and a 200-day simple moving average of $3.88. E.W. Scripps has a 1-year low of $2.02 and a 1-year high of $5.39. The stock has a market cap of $295.67 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -1.75 and a beta of 0.72.

E.W. Scripps (NASDAQ:SSP) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Friday, May 8th. The company reported ($0.20) EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.52) by $0.32. The business had revenue of $516.87 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $516.86 million. E.W. Scripps had a negative return on equity of 0.56% and a negative net margin of 4.63%. Equities analysts forecast that E.W. Scripps will post 0.22 EPS for the current fiscal year.

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.