E.W. Scripps (NASDAQ:SSP) Major Shareholder Acquires $17,920.00 in Stock

E.W. Scripps Company (The) (NASDAQ:SSP) major shareholder Austin Heidt acquired 4,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 10th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $4.48 per share, with a total value of $17,920.00. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 4,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $17,920. This represents a ∞ increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Major shareholders that own more than 10% of a company’s shares are required to disclose their sales and purchases with the SEC.

E.W. Scripps Stock Down 5.2%

SSP stock traded down $0.23 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, hitting $4.17. 921,662 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 627,969. The company has a current ratio of 1.65, a quick ratio of 1.65 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.13. The company has a market capitalization of $370.30 million, a PE ratio of -2.23 and a beta of 0.54. E.W. Scripps Company has a twelve month low of $1.72 and a twelve month high of $4.98. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $3.70 and a 200 day simple moving average of $3.40.

E.W. Scripps (NASDAQ:SSP) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 25th. The company reported ($0.06) earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates 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 company had revenue of $560.26 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $550.82 million. On average, research analysts forecast that E.W. Scripps Company will post 1.07 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

E.W. Scripps News Summary

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

• Positive Sentiment: Analysts’ average price target of $6.95 implies meaningful upside versus the stock’s current trading range, supporting buyer interest. E.W. Scripps Company (The) (NASDAQ:SSP) Receives $6.95 Average Price Target from Brokerages
• Positive Sentiment: Large, high‑visibility insider purchase: major shareholder Margaret Scripps Klenzing bought 159,515 shares (~27% increase to her stake) at about $4.64 — a sizable vote of confidence that can attract other investors. SEC Filing – Margaret Scripps Klenzing
• Positive Sentiment: Multiple additional insider buys (Corina S. Granado, Eaton M. Scripps, Anthony S. Granado, Elizabeth Scripps and director Raymundo H. Jr. Granado made recent purchases totaling hundreds of thousands of shares across insiders), reinforcing the bullish signal from family/major holders. (See SEC filings for details.) Corina S. Granado SEC Filing Eaton M. Scripps SEC Filing Anthony S. Granado SEC Filing Elizabeth Scripps SEC Filing Raymundo H. Jr. Granado SEC Filing
• Neutral Sentiment: Short-interest numbers in the provided snapshot are inconsistent (showing 0 shares / NaN changes) and are unreliable as a near‑term signal until validated by an exchange short-interest report.
• Negative Sentiment: Company fundamentals remain mixed: SSP missed on EPS in the Feb. 25 quarter (reported $(0.06) vs. a consensus $0.46) and carries a high debt‑to‑equity ratio (~3.13), which are longer‑term headwinds that could cap upside absent improving margins or guidance. SSP Financials & Earnings

Hedge Funds Weigh In On E.W. Scripps

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Penn Capital Management Company LLC raised its position in E.W. Scripps by 151.7% in the third quarter. Penn Capital Management Company LLC now owns 3,599,606 shares of the company’s stock worth $8,864,000 after purchasing an additional 2,169,640 shares in the last quarter. New York State Common Retirement Fund increased its holdings in E.W. Scripps by 142.3% during the 3rd quarter. New York State Common Retirement Fund now owns 2,318,987 shares of the company’s stock valued at $5,705,000 after purchasing an additional 1,361,721 shares in the last quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. boosted its stake in E.W. Scripps by 886.8% in the third quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 1,280,898 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,151,000 after purchasing an additional 1,151,092 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its holdings in E.W. Scripps by 22.6% in the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 4,722,317 shares of the company’s stock valued at $18,842,000 after buying an additional 871,159 shares during the period. Finally, Federated Hermes Inc. lifted its stake in shares of E.W. Scripps by 82.5% in the 4th quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. now owns 815,751 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,255,000 after purchasing an additional 368,852 shares during the period. 67.81% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have issued reports on SSP. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on E.W. Scripps from $3.00 to $3.90 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, January 22nd. Zacks Research cut shares of E.W. Scripps from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a report on Friday, February 27th. Weiss Ratings restated a “sell (d+)” rating on shares of E.W. Scripps in a report on Monday, December 22nd. Benchmark lifted their target price on E.W. Scripps from $8.00 to $10.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, February 27th. Finally, Guggenheim reaffirmed a “neutral” rating on shares of E.W. Scripps in a research report on Friday, March 6th. 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 company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Reduce” and a consensus target price of $6.95.

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.