E.W. Scripps Company (The) (NASDAQ:SSP) Stock Has Consensus Target Price of $5.90

E.W. Scripps Company (The) (NASDAQ:SSP) has received an average rating of “Hold” from the five brokerages that are currently covering the firm, Marketbeat Ratings reports. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation, three have assigned a hold recommendation and one has assigned a buy recommendation to the company. The average 1 year target price among brokers that have covered the stock in the last year is $5.90.

Several research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of E.W. Scripps from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, September 19th. Weiss Ratings reissued a “sell (d)” rating on shares of E.W. Scripps in a research note on Wednesday, August 26th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lowered their target price on shares of E.W. Scripps from $4.70 to $3.80 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, August 11th.

E.W. Scripps Stock Down 4.9%

Shares of SSP traded down $0.14 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $2.69. 789,906 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 642,902. E.W. Scripps has a twelve month low of $2.02 and a twelve month high of $5.39. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $3.08 and a two-hundred day moving average of $3.36. The company has a quick ratio of 1.34, a current ratio of 1.34 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.08. The stock has a market cap of $249.28 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -0.19 and a beta of 0.71.

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

Hedge Funds Weigh In On E.W. Scripps

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of SSP. Sei Investments Co. increased its holdings in E.W. Scripps by 174.7% during the 1st quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 582,224 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,166,000 after purchasing an additional 370,260 shares in the last quarter. Lee Danner & Bass Inc. bought a new stake in E.W. Scripps during the first quarter worth $5,273,000. Gabelli Funds LLC lifted its stake in E.W. Scripps by 23.2% in the 1st quarter. Gabelli Funds LLC now owns 1,375,524 shares of the company’s stock valued at $5,117,000 after purchasing an additional 258,908 shares during the last quarter. Gamco Investors INC. ET AL lifted its position in shares of E.W. Scripps by 9.0% in the first quarter. Gamco Investors INC. ET AL now owns 2,661,878 shares of the company’s stock valued at $9,902,000 after buying an additional 219,839 shares during the last quarter. Finally, GABELLI & Co INVESTMENT ADVISERS INC. raised its holdings in 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 period. 67.81% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About E.W. Scripps

E.W. Scripps (NASDAQ:SSP) is an American media company that operates local television stations, national television networks and digital media businesses. Its local media operations provide broadcast news, weather, sports and other programming to communities across the United States, with stations affiliated with major networks as well as independent stations.

The company’s national networks include Scripps News, a 24-hour news service, and entertainment and specialty networks such as ION, Bounce, Court TV, Grit, Laff and Defy TV.