E.W. Scripps (NASDAQ:SSP) Major Shareholder Molly Mccabe Sells 11,239 Shares

E.W. Scripps Company (The) (NASDAQ:SSP) major shareholder Molly Mccabe sold 11,239 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $3.29, for a total transaction of $36,976.31. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 266,493 shares in the company, valued at $876,761.97. The trade was a 4.05% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Major shareholders that own at least 10% of a company’s stock are required to disclose their sales and purchases with the SEC.

E.W. Scripps Stock Performance

E.W. Scripps stock traded down $0.07 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $3.42. 377,457 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 706,318. E.W. Scripps Company has a 12-month low of $2.02 and a 12-month high of $5.39. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.08, a quick ratio of 1.58 and a current ratio of 1.58. The stock has a market cap of $313.07 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -1.85 and a beta of 0.72. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $4.04 and its 200 day simple moving average is $3.89.

E.W. Scripps (NASDAQ:SSP) last issued its quarterly earnings data 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. E.W. Scripps had a negative net margin of 4.63% and a negative return on equity of 0.56%. The company had revenue of $516.87 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $516.86 million. Equities research analysts predict that E.W. Scripps Company will post 0.22 EPS for the current year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have issued reports on the stock. Zacks Research raised shares of E.W. Scripps from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 28th. Benchmark lowered their target price on shares of E.W. Scripps from $10.00 to $8.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, May 11th. Guggenheim reaffirmed a “neutral” rating on shares of E.W. Scripps in a report on Friday, March 6th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on shares of E.W. Scripps from $3.00 to $3.90 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, January 22nd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, three have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $5.95.

Institutional Trading of E.W. Scripps

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Bank of America Corp DE boosted its holdings in shares of E.W. Scripps by 13.9% in the first quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 71,890 shares of the company’s stock valued at $267,000 after acquiring an additional 8,746 shares in the last quarter. Empowered Funds LLC boosted its holdings in E.W. Scripps by 9.9% during the first quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 469,174 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,745,000 after buying an additional 42,138 shares in the last quarter. Rangeley Capital LLC purchased a new stake in E.W. Scripps during the first quarter worth about $318,000. Gabelli Funds LLC boosted its holdings in E.W. Scripps by 23.2% during the first quarter. Gabelli Funds LLC now owns 1,375,524 shares of the company’s stock worth $5,117,000 after buying an additional 258,908 shares in the last quarter. Finally, GABELLI & Co INVESTMENT ADVISERS INC. boosted its holdings in E.W. Scripps by 233.3% during the first quarter. GABELLI & Co INVESTMENT ADVISERS INC. now owns 241,500 shares of the company’s stock worth $898,000 after buying an additional 169,050 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 67.81% of the company’s stock.

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.