E.W. Scripps Company (The) (NASDAQ:SSP) Receives $6.95 Average PT from Brokerages

Shares of E.W. Scripps Company (The) (NASDAQ:SSP) have been assigned an average rating of “Reduce” from the five analysts that are presently covering the firm, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, two have given a hold rating and one has assigned a buy rating to the company. The average 1 year price target among brokerages that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $6.95.

SSP has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price 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. Weiss Ratings reissued a “sell (d+)” rating on shares of E.W. Scripps in a report on Monday, December 22nd. Guggenheim restated a “neutral” rating on shares of E.W. Scripps in a research note on Friday. Benchmark upped their price objective on shares of E.W. Scripps from $8.00 to $10.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, February 27th. Finally, Zacks Research lowered shares of E.W. Scripps from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research report on Friday, February 27th.

E.W. Scripps Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:SSP opened at $4.57 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 1.65, a quick ratio of 1.65 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.13. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $3.68 and its two-hundred day moving average is $3.38. The firm has a market capitalization of $405.82 million, a P/E ratio of -2.44 and a beta of 0.53. E.W. Scripps has a 52 week low of $1.36 and a 52 week high of $4.98.

E.W. Scripps (NASDAQ:SSP) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 25th. The company reported ($0.06) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.46 by ($0.52). E.W. Scripps had a negative return on equity of 0.27% and a negative net margin of 4.69%.The business had revenue of $560.26 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $550.82 million. Analysts anticipate that E.W. Scripps will post 1.07 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director Monica Holcomb bought 7,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 3rd. The shares were purchased at an average price of $3.91 per share, with a total value of $29,325.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director directly owned 24,005 shares in the company, valued at approximately $93,859.55. This trade represents a 45.44% increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, major shareholder Margaret Scripps Klenzing bought 120,534 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 5th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $4.43 per share, with a total value of $533,965.62. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 582,463 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,580,311.09. This trade represents a 26.09% increase in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this purchase provides additional information. In the last quarter, insiders acquired 796,801 shares of company stock worth $3,286,592. Company insiders own 4.13% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On E.W. Scripps

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of SSP. Empowered Funds LLC lifted its holdings in shares of E.W. Scripps by 8.6% in the first quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 316,113 shares of the company’s stock valued at $936,000 after buying an additional 25,070 shares during the period. Strs Ohio bought a new stake in E.W. Scripps in the first quarter worth about $117,000. Acadian Asset Management LLC raised its position in E.W. Scripps by 6.4% in the second quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC now owns 1,231,807 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,618,000 after acquiring an additional 74,435 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in E.W. Scripps by 0.7% in the 2nd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,516,298 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,459,000 after acquiring an additional 10,957 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Bailard Inc. boosted its position in shares of E.W. Scripps by 47.5% during the 2nd quarter. Bailard Inc. now owns 89,600 shares of the company’s stock valued at $263,000 after purchasing an additional 28,858 shares in the last quarter. 67.81% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Trending Headlines about 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.

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.