Insider Buying: E.W. Scripps (NASDAQ:SSP) Major Shareholder Purchases $740,149.60 in Stock

E.W. Scripps Company (The) (NASDAQ:SSP) major shareholder Margaret Scripps Klenzing bought 159,515 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 6th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $4.64 per share, with a total value of $740,149.60. Following the completion of the purchase, the insider directly owned 741,978 shares in the company, valued at $3,442,777.92. The trade was a 27.39% increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Large shareholders that own 10% or more of a company’s stock are required to disclose their transactions with the SEC.

Margaret Scripps Klenzing also recently made the following trade(s):

• On Thursday, March 5th, Margaret Scripps Klenzing purchased 120,534 shares of E.W. Scripps stock. The shares were acquired at an average price of $4.43 per share, with a total value of $533,965.62.
• On Wednesday, March 4th, Margaret Scripps Klenzing purchased 139,951 shares of E.W. Scripps stock. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $4.17 per share, for a total transaction of $583,595.67.

E.W. Scripps Price Performance

NASDAQ:SSP opened at $4.07 on Friday. E.W. Scripps Company has a 12-month low of $1.90 and a 12-month high of $4.98. The firm has a market capitalization of $361.42 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -2.18 and a beta of 0.54. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $3.70 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $3.41. The company has a quick ratio of 1.65, a current ratio of 1.65 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.13.

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

Institutional Investors Weigh In On E.W. Scripps

A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of SSP. Empowered Funds LLC grew its stake in shares of E.W. Scripps by 8.6% in the first quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 316,113 shares of the company’s stock valued at $936,000 after acquiring an additional 25,070 shares in the last quarter. Strs Ohio acquired a new stake in E.W. Scripps in the 1st quarter worth about $117,000. Acadian Asset Management LLC raised its stake in E.W. Scripps by 6.4% in the 2nd quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC now owns 1,231,807 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,618,000 after purchasing an additional 74,435 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in E.W. Scripps by 0.7% in the 2nd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,516,298 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,459,000 after purchasing an additional 10,957 shares during the period. Finally, Bailard Inc. boosted its holdings in 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 purchasing an additional 28,858 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 67.81% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on SSP shares. Benchmark increased their price objective 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. Zacks Research downgraded shares of E.W. Scripps from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a report on Friday, February 27th. Guggenheim reiterated a “neutral” rating on shares of E.W. Scripps in a research note on Friday, March 6th. Weiss Ratings reissued a “sell (d+)” rating on shares of E.W. Scripps in a report on Monday, December 22nd. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on E.W. Scripps from $3.00 to $3.90 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, January 22nd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, two have assigned a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, E.W. Scripps has an average rating of “Reduce” and a consensus price target of $6.95.

Key Stories Impacting E.W. Scripps

Here are the key news stories impacting E.W. Scripps this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Large, concentrated insider buying — Multiple major shareholders and directors (including Samantha Brickner, Ellen B. Granado, Austin Heidt, Mary Peirce and Raymundo H. Jr. Granado) reported purchases in early March, signaling owner confidence and reducing perceived near‑term sell pressure. Read More.
• Positive Sentiment: Additional coverage/attention from third parties — Media reports highlight a flurry of insider accumulation (which can attract momentum buyers and short‑covering). Read More.
• Positive Sentiment: New programming distribution could boost revenue — Scripps’ ION will nationally televise the PWHL game (Mar. 28), which may lift ad and affiliate revenue if viewership/monetization follow. Read More.
• Positive Sentiment: Analyst targets imply upside — Broker average target (~$6.95) sits materially above current levels, giving a valuation cushion if operational metrics improve. Read More.
• Neutral Sentiment: High institutional ownership (~68%) — Institutional positions can amplify moves (both up and down) but are not an immediate directional catalyst by themselves.
• Neutral Sentiment: Short‑interest reporting unclear — Published short data in available feeds is inconsistent/zero; short‑squeeze risk is indeterminate until exchange‑confirmed figures are released.
• Negative Sentiment: Near‑term fundamentals remain weak — Scripps missed Q4 EPS (reported ($0.06) vs. $0.46 expected) and carries a high debt‑to‑equity ratio (~3.1), which constrains upside unless margins and cash flow improve materially.

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.