Cove Street Capital LLC Sells 275,245 Shares of E.W. Scripps Company (The) $SSP

Cove Street Capital LLC cut its position in shares of E.W. Scripps Company (The) (NASDAQ:SSP) by 43.6% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 356,437 shares of the company’s stock after selling 275,245 shares during the quarter. E.W. Scripps accounts for 1.1% of Cove Street Capital LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 29th biggest holding. Cove Street Capital LLC owned approximately 0.40% of E.W. Scripps worth $877,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. BNP Paribas Financial Markets raised its holdings in E.W. Scripps by 25.8% in the 3rd quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 85,805 shares of the company’s stock valued at $211,000 after acquiring an additional 17,596 shares in the last quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp raised its stake in shares of E.W. Scripps by 315.2% in the third quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp now owns 84,023 shares of the company’s stock valued at $207,000 after purchasing an additional 63,785 shares in the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. bought a new position in E.W. Scripps in the third quarter worth $30,000. WINTON GROUP Ltd bought a new position in E.W. Scripps in the third quarter worth $550,000. Finally, Russell Investments Group Ltd. boosted its stake in E.W. Scripps by 886.8% during the third quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 1,280,898 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,151,000 after buying an additional 1,151,092 shares in the last quarter. 67.81% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on shares of 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 reaffirmed a “sell (d+)” rating on shares of E.W. Scripps in a research note on Monday, December 22nd. Zacks Research lowered shares of E.W. Scripps from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a report on Friday, February 27th. Benchmark lifted their price target on shares of E.W. Scripps from $8.00 to $10.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, February 27th. Finally, Guggenheim restated a “neutral” rating on shares of E.W. Scripps in a research report on Friday, March 6th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, two have assigned a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, E.W. Scripps presently has a consensus rating of “Reduce” and an average target price of $6.95.

Insider Transactions at E.W. Scripps

In related news, major shareholder Manuel E. Granado bought 10,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 10th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $4.46 per share, with a total value of $44,600.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the insider owned 20,000 shares in the company, valued at approximately $89,200. The trade was a 100.00% increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, major shareholder Ellen B. Granado bought 18,000 shares of E.W. Scripps stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 10th. The shares were bought at an average price of $4.46 per share, for a total transaction of $80,280.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 28,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $124,880. This represents a 180.00% increase in their position. The SEC filing for this purchase provides additional information. In the last ninety days, insiders have acquired 1,332,085 shares of company stock worth $5,733,766. Corporate insiders own 3.62% of the company’s stock.

E.W. Scripps Price Performance

E.W. Scripps stock opened at $3.97 on Friday. The business’s fifty day moving average is $3.70 and its two-hundred day moving average is $3.41. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.13, a quick ratio of 1.65 and a current ratio of 1.65. The firm has a market cap of $352.54 million, a P/E ratio of -2.12 and a beta of 0.54. E.W. Scripps Company has a 52 week low of $1.90 and a 52 week high of $4.98.

E.W. Scripps (NASDAQ:SSP) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, February 25th. The company reported ($0.06) earnings per share 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 business had revenue of $560.26 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $550.82 million. Equities research analysts forecast that E.W. Scripps Company will post 1.07 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

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.