E.W. Scripps Company (The) (NASDAQ:SSP) Receives $6.95 Average Target Price from Analysts

E.W. Scripps Company (The) (NASDAQ:SSP) has received an average rating of “Reduce” from the five analysts that are covering the firm, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell recommendation, two have given a hold recommendation and one has given a buy recommendation to the company. The average 1 year target price among analysts that have covered the stock in the last year is $6.95.

Several research firms have recently weighed in on SSP. 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 report on Thursday, January 22nd. Guggenheim reiterated a “neutral” rating on shares of E.W. Scripps in a report on Friday, March 6th. Zacks Research cut E.W. Scripps from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a report on Friday, February 27th. Finally, Benchmark lifted their price objective on E.W. Scripps from $8.00 to $10.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, February 27th.

E.W. Scripps Price Performance

Shares of SSP opened at $4.63 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. E.W. Scripps has a 1 year low of $1.90 and a 1 year high of $5.39. The stock has a market cap of $412.21 million, a P/E ratio of -2.48 and a beta of 0.57. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $4.02 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $3.70.

E.W. Scripps (NASDAQ:SSP) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 26th. The company reported ($0.06) earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.46 by ($0.52). E.W. Scripps had a negative net margin of 4.69% and a negative return on equity of 0.27%. The business had revenue of $560.26 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $550.82 million. On average, equities analysts predict that E.W. Scripps will post 0.92 earnings per share for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other E.W. Scripps news, major shareholder Margaret Scripps Klenzing acquired 159,515 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 6th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $4.64 per share, for a total transaction of $740,149.60. Following the acquisition, the insider directly owned 741,978 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,442,777.92. This trade represents a 27.39% increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, major shareholder Corina S. Granado acquired 260,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 3rd. The shares were acquired at an average price of $3.91 per share, for a total transaction of $1,016,600.00. Following the acquisition, the insider directly owned 590,275 shares in the company, valued at $2,307,975.25. This represents a 78.72% increase in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this purchase are available in the official SEC disclosure. Over the last quarter, insiders have acquired 1,332,085 shares of company stock worth $5,733,766. Company insiders own 5.24% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On E.W. Scripps

Several institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Invesco Ltd. lifted its stake in 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 acquiring an additional 3,472 shares in the last quarter. Prudential Financial Inc. lifted its stake in E.W. Scripps by 2.4% in the 2nd quarter. Prudential Financial Inc. now owns 182,344 shares of the company’s stock valued at $536,000 after acquiring an additional 4,342 shares in the last quarter. MetLife Investment Management LLC lifted its stake in E.W. Scripps by 18.2% in the 4th quarter. MetLife Investment Management LLC now owns 31,297 shares of the company’s stock valued at $125,000 after acquiring an additional 4,819 shares in the last quarter. Diversified Trust Co. lifted its stake in E.W. Scripps by 25.8% in the 4th 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 in the last quarter. Finally, Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. lifted its stake in E.W. Scripps by 67.1% in the 3rd 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 in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 67.81% of the company’s stock.

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.