Elizabeth Scripps Buys 2,324 Shares of E.W. Scripps (NASDAQ:SSP) Stock

E.W. Scripps Company (The) (NASDAQ:SSP) major shareholder Elizabeth Scripps purchased 2,324 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 5th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $4.43 per share, with a total value of $10,295.32. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 10,344 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $45,823.92. This represents a 28.98% increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing 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.

Elizabeth Scripps also recently made the following trade(s):

• On Wednesday, March 4th, Elizabeth Scripps bought 2,099 shares of E.W. Scripps stock. The shares were bought at an average cost of $4.17 per share, for a total transaction of $8,752.83.

E.W. Scripps Price Performance

SSP stock traded up $0.16 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $4.57. The company had a trading volume of 1,401,285 shares, compared to its average volume of 549,543. E.W. Scripps Company has a 1-year low of $1.36 and a 1-year high of $4.98. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $3.66 and a 200-day moving average price of $3.36. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.13, a current ratio of 1.65 and a quick ratio of 1.61. The company 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) EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.46 by ($0.52). The firm had revenue of $560.26 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $550.82 million. E.W. Scripps had a negative net margin of 4.69% and a negative return on equity of 0.27%. Equities research analysts expect that E.W. Scripps Company will post 1.07 earnings per share for the current year.

Institutional Trading of E.W. Scripps

Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of SSP. D Orazio & Associates Inc. acquired a new position in shares of E.W. Scripps during the 3rd quarter valued at $27,000. M&T Bank Corp bought a new stake in E.W. Scripps in the 4th quarter valued at about $47,000. State of Alaska Department of Revenue acquired a new position in E.W. Scripps during the 4th quarter worth approximately $47,000. Franklin Resources Inc. bought a new position in E.W. Scripps in the third quarter worth approximately $30,000. Finally, Pinnacle Associates Ltd. acquired a new position in shares of E.W. Scripps during the fourth quarter worth approximately $50,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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: Leadership and directors buying shares — CEO Adam Symson bought 26,910 shares (~$3.69 avg) and multiple directors (Charles Barmonde, Monica Holcomb) added positions, signaling management confidence and reducing available float. Read More.
• Positive Sentiment: Major shareholder materially increased stake — Corina S. Granado bought large blocks (260,000 shares at ~$3.91 on Mar 3 and ~70k shares at ~$4.17 on Mar 4), pushing her above the 10% threshold; that is a high-visibility vote of confidence and may tighten free float. Read More.
• Positive Sentiment: Small strategic acquisition — Scripps agreed to buy WTVQ (Lexington, KY) for $15.8M, a targeted TV-market add that should modestly expand local ad reach and revenue potential. Read More.
• Neutral Sentiment: Short-interest data looks effectively zero but appears noisy/rounded — the report shows no meaningful short-interest and is unlikely to be a primary driver of price action. Read More.
• Negative Sentiment: Recent fundamentals remain a concern — the Feb. 25 quarter missed EPS expectations (reported ($0.06) vs. $0.46 expected) and showed negative margins/ROE; sustained upside depends on margin recovery and execution. Read More.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have issued reports on SSP. Guggenheim reiterated a “neutral” rating on shares of E.W. Scripps in a research report on Friday. Benchmark boosted their target price on shares of E.W. Scripps from $8.00 to $10.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, February 27th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “sell (d+)” rating on shares of E.W. Scripps in a report on Monday, December 22nd. Zacks Research downgraded E.W. Scripps from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research note on Friday, February 27th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on shares of E.W. Scripps from $3.00 to $3.90 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 22nd. One 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. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Reduce” and an average 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.