Vanessa Sanchez Acquires 6,852 Shares of E.W. Scripps (NASDAQ:SSP) Stock

E.W. Scripps Company (The) (NASDAQ:SSP) major shareholder Vanessa Sanchez purchased 6,852 shares of E.W. Scripps stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 9th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $4.43 per share, with a total value of $30,354.36. Following the acquisition, the insider owned 6,852 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $30,354.36. This trade represents a ∞ increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Major shareholders that own more than 10% of a company’s shares are required to disclose their sales and purchases with the SEC.

E.W. Scripps Stock Performance

Shares of E.W. Scripps stock traded down $0.07 during trading on Friday, hitting $4.00. 74,048 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 579,185. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.13, a quick ratio of 1.65 and a current ratio of 1.65. E.W. Scripps Company has a 12 month low of $1.90 and a 12 month high of $4.98. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $3.70 and its 200 day moving average is $3.41. The stock has a market cap of $355.38 million, a PE ratio of -2.13 and a beta of 0.54.

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have recently issued reports on SSP. Guggenheim reiterated a “neutral” rating on shares of E.W. Scripps in a research report on Friday, March 6th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on E.W. Scripps from $3.00 to $3.90 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 22nd. Benchmark lifted their target price on E.W. Scripps from $8.00 to $10.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, February 27th. Zacks Research lowered E.W. Scripps from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research 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 investment analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, two have issued a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Reduce” and a consensus target price of $6.95.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On E.W. Scripps

Several hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Empowered Funds LLC lifted its stake in E.W. Scripps by 8.6% during 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 in the last quarter. Strs Ohio purchased a new position in shares of E.W. Scripps in the first quarter worth approximately $117,000. Acadian Asset Management LLC increased its position in shares of 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 raised its holdings in shares of E.W. Scripps by 0.7% during the second 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 period. Finally, Bailard Inc. lifted its position in shares of E.W. Scripps by 47.5% in the 2nd quarter. Bailard Inc. now owns 89,600 shares of the company’s stock valued at $263,000 after acquiring an additional 28,858 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 67.81% of the company’s stock.

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.