Insider Buying: E.W. Scripps (NASDAQ:SSP) Major Shareholder Acquires $116,718.30 in Stock

E.W. Scripps Company (The) (NASDAQ:SSP) major shareholder Eaton Scripps purchased 27,990 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 4th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $4.17 per share, with a total value of $116,718.30. Following the completion of the acquisition, the insider owned 1,316,175 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,488,449.75. This trade represents a 2.17% increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 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 Trading Up 3.6%

NASDAQ SSP opened at $4.57 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.13, a current ratio of 1.65 and a quick ratio of 1.65. The stock has a market capitalization of $405.83 million, a P/E ratio of -2.44 and a beta of 0.54. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $3.68 and its two-hundred day moving average is $3.38. E.W. Scripps Company has a 12 month low of $1.36 and a 12 month high of $4.98.

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). The company had revenue of $560.26 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $550.82 million. E.W. Scripps had a negative net margin of 4.69% and a negative return on equity of 0.27%. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that E.W. Scripps Company will post 1.07 earnings per share for the current year.

More E.W. Scripps News

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.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On E.W. Scripps

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Invesco Ltd. boosted its holdings in shares of E.W. Scripps by 1.4% in the 4th quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 246,777 shares of the company’s stock valued at $985,000 after buying an additional 3,472 shares in the last quarter. Prudential Financial Inc. raised its stake in E.W. Scripps by 2.4% during the 2nd quarter. Prudential Financial Inc. now owns 182,344 shares of the company’s stock worth $536,000 after acquiring an additional 4,342 shares in the last quarter. MetLife Investment Management LLC raised its stake in E.W. Scripps by 18.2% during the 4th quarter. MetLife Investment Management LLC now owns 31,297 shares of the company’s stock worth $125,000 after acquiring an additional 4,819 shares in the last quarter. Diversified Trust Co. lifted its position in E.W. Scripps by 25.8% in the fourth quarter. Diversified Trust Co. now owns 24,845 shares of the company’s stock valued at $99,000 after acquiring an additional 5,101 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. lifted its position in E.W. Scripps by 67.1% in the third quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 14,923 shares of the company’s stock valued at $37,000 after acquiring an additional 5,992 shares during the last quarter. 67.81% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

SSP has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Guggenheim reissued a “neutral” rating on shares of E.W. Scripps in a research report on Friday. Benchmark raised their price target 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 lifted their price objective on E.W. Scripps from $3.00 to $3.90 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 22nd. Zacks Research downgraded E.W. Scripps from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a report on Friday, February 27th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reissued a “sell (d+)” rating on shares of E.W. Scripps in a research note on Monday, December 22nd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, two have assigned a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Reduce” and a consensus target price of $6.95.

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.