E.W. Scripps (NASDAQ:SSP) Major Shareholder Molly Mccabe Sells 142,970 Shares

E.W. Scripps Company (The) (NASDAQ:SSP) major shareholder Molly Mccabe sold 142,970 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, May 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $3.48, for a total value of $497,535.60. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 123,523 shares in the company, valued at $429,860.04. This trade represents a 53.65% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Large 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 2.0%

Shares of NASDAQ:SSP opened at $3.42 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 1.58, a quick ratio of 1.58 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.08. The stock has a market capitalization of $313.07 million, a P/E ratio of -1.85 and a beta of 0.72. E.W. Scripps Company has a 12-month low of $2.02 and a 12-month high of $5.39. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $4.04 and its 200-day moving average price is $3.89.

E.W. Scripps (NASDAQ:SSP) last posted its earnings results on Friday, May 8th. The company reported ($0.20) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of ($0.52) by $0.32. The company had revenue of $516.87 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $516.86 million. E.W. Scripps had a negative return on equity of 0.56% and a negative net margin of 4.63%. On average, equities analysts anticipate that E.W. Scripps Company will post 0.22 earnings per share for the current year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms recently issued reports on SSP. Guggenheim reissued a “neutral” rating on shares of E.W. Scripps in a research note on Friday, March 6th. Zacks Research raised E.W. Scripps from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 28th. Finally, Benchmark cut their target price 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. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, three have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, E.W. Scripps currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $5.95.

Institutional Trading of E.W. Scripps

Several large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Invesco Ltd. boosted its position in E.W. Scripps by 1.4% during the 4th quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 246,777 shares of the company’s stock valued at $985,000 after acquiring an additional 3,472 shares in the last quarter. Prudential Financial Inc. boosted its position in E.W. Scripps by 2.4% during the 2nd quarter. Prudential Financial Inc. now owns 182,344 shares of the company’s stock valued at $536,000 after acquiring an additional 4,342 shares in the last quarter. MetLife Investment Management LLC boosted its position in E.W. Scripps by 18.2% during the 4th quarter. MetLife Investment Management LLC now owns 31,297 shares of the company’s stock valued at $125,000 after acquiring an additional 4,819 shares in the last quarter. Chicago Partners Investment Group LLC boosted its position in E.W. Scripps by 23.8% during the 1st quarter. Chicago Partners Investment Group LLC now owns 26,075 shares of the company’s stock valued at $97,000 after acquiring an additional 5,020 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Diversified Trust Co. boosted its position in E.W. Scripps by 25.8% during the 4th quarter. Diversified Trust Co. now owns 24,845 shares of the company’s stock valued at $99,000 after acquiring an additional 5,101 shares in the last quarter. 67.81% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.