E.W. Scripps (NASDAQ:SSP) Lowered to Sell Rating by Wall Street Zen

E.W. Scripps (NASDAQ:SSP) was downgraded by equities research analysts at Wall Street Zen from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note issued on Friday.

Separately, Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on E.W. Scripps from $2.80 to $4.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Tuesday.

E.W. Scripps Trading Up 0.9%

Shares of E.W. Scripps stock opened at $3.27 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $286.81 million, a P/E ratio of 3.55 and a beta of 1.10. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $2.80 and its 200-day simple moving average is $2.42. E.W. Scripps has a 1-year low of $1.36 and a 1-year high of $4.17. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.84, a current ratio of 1.36 and a quick ratio of 1.36.

E.W. Scripps (NASDAQ:SSP) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 8th. The company reported ($0.18) EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of ($0.23) by $0.05. The firm had revenue of $524.39 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $520.04 million. E.W. Scripps had a net margin of 5.71% and a return on equity of 17.81%. Analysts predict that E.W. Scripps will post 1.07 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On E.W. Scripps

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. Wittenberg Investment Management Inc. grew its stake in shares of E.W. Scripps by 14.1% during the first quarter. Wittenberg Investment Management Inc. now owns 2,036,014 shares of the company’s stock worth $6,027,000 after purchasing an additional 251,875 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its stake in shares of E.W. Scripps by 155.0% during the first quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,926,461 shares of the company’s stock worth $5,702,000 after purchasing an additional 1,171,102 shares in the last quarter. Millennium Management LLC grew its stake in shares of E.W. Scripps by 7.7% during the fourth quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 1,724,192 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,810,000 after purchasing an additional 123,663 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in E.W. Scripps by 1.9% in the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,468,827 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,247,000 after acquiring an additional 26,683 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Penn Capital Management Company LLC boosted its stake in E.W. Scripps by 10.0% in the first quarter. Penn Capital Management Company LLC now owns 1,423,427 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,218,000 after acquiring an additional 129,884 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 67.81% of the company’s stock.

About E.W. Scripps

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.