E.W. Scripps (NASDAQ:SSP) Rating Increased to Hold at Wall Street Zen

Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of E.W. Scripps (NASDAQ:SSP) from a sell rating to a hold rating in a research report sent to investors on Saturday morning,Wall Street Zen reports.

Other research analysts have also recently issued research reports about the company. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “sell (d)” rating on shares of E.W. Scripps in a research note on Wednesday, August 26th. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price objective on E.W. Scripps from $4.70 to $3.80 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, August 11th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, three have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, E.W. Scripps currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $5.90.

E.W. Scripps Price Performance

Shares of SSP stock opened at $3.02 on Friday. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $3.15 and a 200-day simple moving average of $3.51. The company has a market capitalization of $279.86 million, a PE ratio of -0.22 and a beta of 0.68. E.W. Scripps has a twelve month low of $2.02 and a twelve month high of $5.39. The company has a current ratio of 1.34, a quick ratio of 1.34 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.08.

E.W. Scripps (NASDAQ:SSP) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 6th. The company reported ($0.34) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of ($0.53) by $0.19. The firm had revenue of $490.40 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $511.65 million. E.W. Scripps had a negative net margin of 58.02% and a negative return on equity of 4.58%.

Institutional Trading of E.W. Scripps

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Lee Danner & Bass Inc. acquired a new stake in E.W. Scripps during the first quarter valued at approximately $5,273,000. Sei Investments Co. grew its position in shares of E.W. Scripps by 174.7% in the 1st quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 582,224 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,166,000 after acquiring an additional 370,260 shares in the last quarter. Gabelli Funds LLC grew its position in shares of E.W. Scripps by 23.2% in the 1st quarter. Gabelli Funds LLC now owns 1,375,524 shares of the company’s stock worth $5,117,000 after acquiring an additional 258,908 shares in the last quarter. Gamco Investors INC. ET AL increased its holdings in shares of E.W. Scripps by 9.0% in the 1st quarter. Gamco Investors INC. ET AL now owns 2,661,878 shares of the company’s stock valued at $9,902,000 after acquiring an additional 219,839 shares during the last quarter. Finally, GABELLI & Co INVESTMENT ADVISERS INC. increased its holdings in shares of E.W. Scripps by 233.3% in the 1st quarter. GABELLI & Co INVESTMENT ADVISERS INC. now owns 241,500 shares of the company’s stock valued at $898,000 after acquiring an additional 169,050 shares during the last quarter. 67.81% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

About E.W. Scripps

The E.W. Scripps Company is a diversified media company that operates local television stations and national broadcast and digital media networks. Its local media business provides news, weather, sports and community programming through television stations serving markets across the United States, along with related digital platforms.

Scripps’ national portfolio includes Scripps News, a 24-hour news service, and entertainment and specialty networks such as ION, Bounce, Court TV, Grit and ION Mystery.