Insider Buying: E.W. Scripps (NASDAQ:SSP) Major Shareholder Acquires 79,758 Shares of Stock

E.W. Scripps Company (The) (NASDAQ:SSP) major shareholder Corina Granado purchased 79,758 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 6th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $4.64 per share, with a total value of $370,077.12. Following the transaction, the insider owned 800,275 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,713,276. The trade was a 11.07% increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at 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 Price Performance

Shares of E.W. Scripps stock traded down $0.20 on Tuesday, hitting $4.40. 1,133,842 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 575,071. E.W. Scripps Company has a 12-month low of $1.36 and a 12-month high of $4.98. 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 company has a market cap of $390.72 million, a P/E ratio of -2.35 and a beta of 0.53. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $3.69 and its 200 day simple moving average is $3.39.

E.W. Scripps (NASDAQ:SSP) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, February 25th. The company reported ($0.06) EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates 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 firm had revenue of $560.26 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $550.82 million. Analysts expect that E.W. Scripps Company will post 1.07 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Trading of E.W. Scripps

Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of SSP. D Orazio & Associates Inc. purchased a new position in E.W. Scripps during the 3rd quarter valued at about $27,000. Franklin Resources Inc. purchased a new stake in E.W. Scripps in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $30,000. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. lifted its holdings 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 worth $37,000 after buying an additional 5,992 shares during the period. Squarepoint Ops LLC bought a new stake in shares of E.W. Scripps in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $42,000. Finally, NewEdge Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of E.W. Scripps during the third quarter valued at approximately $42,000. 67.81% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

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