E.W. Scripps (NASDAQ:SSP) Director Monica Holcomb Buys 7,500 Shares

E.W. Scripps Company (The) (NASDAQ:SSP) Director Monica Holcomb acquired 7,500 shares of E.W. Scripps stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 3rd. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $3.91 per share, for a total transaction of $29,325.00. Following the purchase, the director directly owned 24,005 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $93,859.55. This trade represents a 45.44% increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website.

E.W. Scripps Trading Up 3.6%

Shares of E.W. Scripps stock traded up $0.16 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $4.57. 809,829 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 535,406. E.W. Scripps Company has a 52-week low of $1.36 and a 52-week high of $4.98. The company has a fifty day moving average of $3.66 and a 200-day moving average of $3.36. The company has a current ratio of 1.65, a quick ratio of 1.61 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.13. The firm has a market capitalization of $405.83 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -2.44 and a beta of 0.54.

E.W. Scripps (NASDAQ:SSP) last released its 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). E.W. Scripps had a negative return on equity of 0.27% and a negative net margin of 4.69%.The business had revenue of $560.26 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $550.82 million. Sell-side analysts forecast that E.W. Scripps Company will post 1.07 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts recently weighed in on SSP shares. Benchmark increased their target price on E.W. Scripps from $8.00 to $10.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, February 27th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on 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. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “sell (d+)” rating on shares of E.W. Scripps in a research note on Monday, December 22nd. Zacks Research downgraded shares of E.W. Scripps from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research report on Friday, February 27th. Finally, Guggenheim reiterated a “neutral” rating on shares of E.W. Scripps in a research note on Friday. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, two have given a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Reduce” and a consensus target price of $6.95.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On E.W. Scripps

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of SSP. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its position in shares of E.W. Scripps by 22.6% during the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 4,722,317 shares of the company’s stock worth $18,842,000 after purchasing an additional 871,159 shares in the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its holdings in E.W. Scripps by 1.7% in the 4th quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 3,671,714 shares of the company’s stock worth $14,650,000 after buying an additional 60,729 shares in the last quarter. Penn Capital Management Company LLC boosted its position in E.W. Scripps by 151.7% in the 3rd quarter. Penn Capital Management Company LLC now owns 3,599,606 shares of the company’s stock valued at $8,864,000 after buying an additional 2,169,640 shares during the last quarter. Gamco Investors INC. ET AL grew its stake in shares of E.W. Scripps by 0.7% during the fourth quarter. Gamco Investors INC. ET AL now owns 2,442,039 shares of the company’s stock valued at $9,744,000 after acquiring an additional 16,359 shares in the last quarter. Finally, New York State Common Retirement Fund increased its position in shares of E.W. Scripps by 142.3% during the third quarter. New York State Common Retirement Fund now owns 2,318,987 shares of the company’s stock worth $5,705,000 after acquiring an additional 1,361,721 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 67.81% of the company’s stock.

Key Headlines Impacting E.W. Scripps

Here are the key news stories impacting E.W. Scripps this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Large insider purchases: CEO Adam Symson bought 26,910 shares (~$3.69 avg) and several directors also bought (Charles Barmonde 40,000; Monica Holcomb 7,500). Insider buying from leadership is being read as confidence in the business. CEO Purchases 26,910 Shares
• Positive Sentiment: Major shareholder increases position: Corina S. Granado disclosed large buys (260,000 shares at ~$3.91 on Mar 3 and 69,976 shares at ~$4.17 on Mar 4), taking her stake above 10% — a material, visible vote of confidence that reduces free float. SEC Filing
• Positive Sentiment: Acquisition expands local footprint: Scripps agreed to buy WTVQ (Lexington, KY) from Morris Network for $15.8M — a small, strategic TV-market add that could modestly lift regional ad revenue and distribution. WTVQ Purchase
• Neutral Sentiment: Short-interest report shows effectively zero reported short interest as of Mar 5 — the number appears noisy/rounded and is unlikely to be a primary driver of today’s move. Market Data
• Negative Sentiment: Weak fundamentals headline risk: Feb. 25 quarter missed EPS expectations (reported ($0.06) vs. $0.46 expected) and showed negative margins/ROE — any sustained upside depends on margin recovery and execution. Earnings Summary

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.