Austin Heidt Purchases 4,000 Shares of E.W. Scripps (NASDAQ:SSP) Stock

E.W. Scripps Company (The) (NASDAQ:SSP) major shareholder Austin Heidt purchased 4,000 shares of E.W. Scripps stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 10th. The shares were bought at an average price of $4.48 per share, for a total transaction of $17,920.00. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 4,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $17,920. This trade represents a ∞ increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Large shareholders that own more than 10% of a company’s stock are required to disclose their transactions with the SEC.

E.W. Scripps Trading Down 1.7%

SSP stock traded down $0.07 during trading on Friday, reaching $4.00. The company had a trading volume of 74,048 shares, compared to its average volume of 579,185. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.13, a current ratio of 1.65 and a quick ratio of 1.65. E.W. Scripps Company has a 52 week low of $1.90 and a 52 week high of $4.98. The business has a 50 day moving average of $3.70 and a 200 day moving average of $3.41. The company has a market cap of $355.38 million, a P/E ratio of -2.13 and a beta of 0.54.

E.W. Scripps (NASDAQ:SSP) last posted 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). 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 for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $550.82 million. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that E.W. Scripps Company will post 1.07 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

SSP has been the subject of a number of research reports. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “sell (d+)” rating on shares of E.W. Scripps in a report on Monday, December 22nd. Wells Fargo & Company upped 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. Guggenheim reiterated a “neutral” rating on shares of E.W. Scripps in a research note on Friday, March 6th. Zacks Research cut shares of E.W. Scripps from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research report on Friday, February 27th. Finally, Benchmark boosted their price objective on shares of E.W. Scripps from $8.00 to $10.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, February 27th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, two have assigned a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Reduce” and an average price target of $6.95.

Institutional Trading of E.W. Scripps

A number of institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in SSP. D Orazio & Associates Inc. bought a new stake in shares of E.W. Scripps in the third quarter worth approximately $27,000. Franklin Resources Inc. bought a new position in E.W. Scripps during the third quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. lifted its position in E.W. Scripps by 67.1% during the third quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 14,923 shares of the company’s stock valued at $37,000 after purchasing an additional 5,992 shares during the period. Squarepoint Ops LLC purchased a new stake in E.W. Scripps in the third quarter worth approximately $42,000. Finally, NewEdge Advisors LLC bought a new stake in E.W. Scripps in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $42,000. Hedge funds and other 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.