E.W. Scripps (NASDAQ:SSP) Major Shareholder Corina Granado Acquires 260,000 Shares

E.W. Scripps Company (The) (NASDAQ:SSP) major shareholder Corina Granado purchased 260,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 3rd. The stock was acquired at an average price of $3.91 per share, for a total transaction of $1,016,600.00. Following the purchase, the insider owned 590,275 shares in the company, valued at $2,307,975.25. This trade represents a 78.72% increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Large shareholders that own more than 10% of a company’s stock are required to disclose their sales and purchases with the SEC.

E.W. Scripps Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:SSP traded up $0.30 on Thursday, hitting $4.41. The company had a trading volume of 1,434,807 shares, compared to its average volume of 529,694. The stock has a market cap of $391.61 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -2.36 and a beta of 0.54. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $3.65 and a 200 day moving average price of $3.36. E.W. Scripps Company has a 1-year low of $1.36 and a 1-year high of $4.98. The company has a current ratio of 1.65, a quick ratio of 1.61 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.13.

E.W. Scripps (NASDAQ:SSP) last released 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 firm had revenue of $560.26 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $550.82 million. E.W. Scripps had a negative return on equity of 0.27% and a negative net margin of 4.69%. Analysts expect that E.W. Scripps Company will post 1.07 EPS for the current year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Large investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. D Orazio & Associates Inc. acquired a new stake in E.W. Scripps in the third quarter valued at $27,000. Franklin Resources Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of E.W. Scripps in the third quarter valued at about $30,000. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. raised its position 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 worth $37,000 after acquiring an additional 5,992 shares during the last quarter. Squarepoint Ops LLC acquired a new position in shares of E.W. Scripps in the third quarter worth approximately $42,000. Finally, NewEdge Advisors LLC bought 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.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts recently commented on SSP shares. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on E.W. Scripps from $3.00 to $3.90 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 22nd. Weiss Ratings restated a “sell (d+)” rating on shares of E.W. Scripps in a research report on Monday, December 22nd. Benchmark upped their price target on shares of E.W. Scripps from $8.00 to $10.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, February 27th. Finally, Zacks Research lowered shares of E.W. Scripps from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research report on Friday, February 27th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, one has assigned a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Reduce” and an average price target of $6.95.

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.