E.W. Scripps (NASDAQ:SSP) Downgraded by StockNews.com to Sell

StockNews.com downgraded shares of E.W. Scripps (NASDAQ:SSP) from a hold rating to a sell rating in a research note published on Thursday morning.

Other equities analysts also recently issued research reports about the company. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price objective on E.W. Scripps from $6.00 to $4.50 and set an equal weight rating for the company in a research report on Monday, May 13th. Benchmark cut their price target on E.W. Scripps from $14.00 to $11.00 and set a buy rating for the company in a report on Monday, August 12th.

E.W. Scripps Stock Up 1.0 %

SSP opened at $2.12 on Thursday. E.W. Scripps has a twelve month low of $1.96 and a twelve month high of $9.35. The firm has a market cap of $181.03 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -0.18 and a beta of 1.79. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $2.87 and its 200-day simple moving average is $3.69. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.82, a quick ratio of 1.43 and a current ratio of 1.43.

E.W. Scripps (NASDAQ:SSP) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 8th. The company reported ($0.15) earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.02 by ($0.17). E.W. Scripps had a positive return on equity of 3.17% and a negative net margin of 39.87%. The firm had revenue of $573.63 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $586.65 million. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted ($0.09) earnings per share. Equities research analysts anticipate that E.W. Scripps will post 0.75 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Trading of E.W. Scripps

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Empowered Funds LLC boosted its position in E.W. Scripps by 8.1% in the 1st quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 243,868 shares of the company’s stock valued at $958,000 after buying an additional 18,375 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its holdings in E.W. Scripps by 21.2% in the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,203,306 shares of the company’s stock valued at $9,614,000 after acquiring an additional 210,673 shares during the last quarter. Kestra Private Wealth Services LLC increased its position in E.W. Scripps by 12.3% in the fourth quarter. Kestra Private Wealth Services LLC now owns 32,034 shares of the company’s stock worth $256,000 after purchasing an additional 3,500 shares during the period. SageView Advisory Group LLC bought a new stake in E.W. Scripps during the 4th quarter worth about $82,000. Finally, PNC Financial Services Group Inc. lifted its position in E.W. Scripps by 229.6% during the 4th quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 10,761 shares of the company’s stock valued at $86,000 after purchasing an additional 7,496 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 67.81% of the company’s stock.

About E.W. Scripps

The E.W. Scripps Company, together with its subsidiaries, operates as a media enterprise through a portfolio of local television stations, national news, and entertainment networks in the United States. It operates through Local Media, Scripps Networks, and Other segments. The Local Media segment operates broadcast television stations, which produce news, information, sports, and entertainment content, as well as its related digital operations; runs network, syndicated, and original programming, and local sporting events; and provides core and political advertising services.