E.W. Scripps (NASDAQ:SSP) Rating Lowered to Sell at StockNews.com

StockNews.com lowered shares of E.W. Scripps (NASDAQ:SSP) from a hold rating to a sell rating in a report published on Thursday morning.

Several other research analysts have also commented on the company. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price target on E.W. Scripps from $6.00 to $4.50 and set an equal weight rating for the company in a research report on Monday, May 13th. Benchmark cut their target price on E.W. Scripps from $14.00 to $11.00 and set a buy rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, August 12th.

E.W. Scripps Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:SSP opened at $2.12 on Thursday. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $2.87 and its 200-day simple moving average is $3.66. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.82, a quick ratio of 1.43 and a current ratio of 1.43. E.W. Scripps has a one year low of $1.96 and a one year high of $9.35. The firm has a market cap of $181.03 million, a PE ratio of -0.18 and a beta of 1.79.

E.W. Scripps (NASDAQ:SSP) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, August 8th. The company reported ($0.15) earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.02 by ($0.17). The firm had revenue of $573.63 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $586.65 million. E.W. Scripps had a positive return on equity of 3.17% and a negative net margin of 39.87%. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted ($0.09) earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts predict that E.W. Scripps will post 0.75 EPS for the current year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On E.W. Scripps

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Cove Street Capital LLC grew its position in E.W. Scripps by 34.2% during the 1st quarter. Cove Street Capital LLC now owns 3,703,082 shares of the company’s stock worth $14,553,000 after purchasing an additional 944,328 shares during the period. Gamco Investors INC. ET AL boosted its stake in shares of E.W. Scripps by 0.8% in the first quarter. Gamco Investors INC. ET AL now owns 3,360,347 shares of the company’s stock worth $13,206,000 after buying an additional 27,192 shares during the last quarter. Millennium Management LLC grew its holdings in E.W. Scripps by 270.6% during the second quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 3,001,601 shares of the company’s stock worth $9,425,000 after acquiring an additional 2,191,666 shares during the period. AQR Capital Management LLC raised its position in E.W. Scripps by 1,154.7% during the second quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 2,404,607 shares of the company’s stock valued at $7,550,000 after acquiring an additional 2,212,959 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Assenagon Asset Management S.A. raised its position in E.W. Scripps by 1,619.1% during the second quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 2,203,186 shares of the company’s stock valued at $6,918,000 after acquiring an additional 2,075,027 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 67.81% of the company’s stock.

E.W. Scripps Company Profile

The E.W. Scripps Company, together with its subsidiaries, operates as a media enterprise through a portfolio of local television stations, national news, and entertainment networks in the United States. It operates through Local Media, Scripps Networks, and Other segments. The Local Media segment operates broadcast television stations, which produce news, information, sports, and entertainment content, as well as its related digital operations; runs network, syndicated, and original programming, and local sporting events; and provides core and political advertising services.