Short Interest in The E.W. Scripps Company (NASDAQ:SSP) Decreases By 19.8%

The E.W. Scripps Company (NASDAQ:SSP) was the target of a significant decrease in short interest during the month of January. As of January 15th, there was short interest totalling 2,150,000 shares, a decrease of 19.8% from the December 31st total of 2,680,000 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 686,400 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 3.1 days.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have recently weighed in on SSP shares. StockNews.com raised E.W. Scripps from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, November 11th. Benchmark cut their target price on shares of E.W. Scripps from $11.00 to $7.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, November 5th.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On E.W. Scripps

Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. American Century Companies Inc. raised its stake in shares of E.W. Scripps by 17.3% during the second quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 89,180 shares of the company’s stock valued at $280,000 after purchasing an additional 13,156 shares during the period. Hsbc Holdings PLC increased its stake in E.W. Scripps by 323.0% during the 2nd quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC now owns 58,752 shares of the company’s stock worth $187,000 after buying an additional 44,863 shares during the period. Sei Investments Co. acquired a new position in E.W. Scripps in the 2nd quarter worth $38,000. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans boosted its position in E.W. Scripps by 709.5% in the 2nd quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans now owns 419,127 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,316,000 after buying an additional 367,348 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Marshall Wace LLP acquired a new stake in shares of E.W. Scripps during the second quarter valued at about $1,833,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 67.81% of the company’s stock.

E.W. Scripps Trading Down 5.1 %

SSP stock traded down $0.10 on Friday, hitting $1.88. 484,582 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 444,439. The stock has a market capitalization of $162.36 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -0.61 and a beta of 1.48. The business’s fifty day moving average is $2.16 and its two-hundred day moving average is $2.36. E.W. Scripps has a twelve month low of $1.68 and a twelve month high of $8.39. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.41, a current ratio of 1.34 and a quick ratio of 1.34.

E.W. Scripps (NASDAQ:SSP) last issued its earnings results on Monday, November 4th. The company reported $0.37 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.56 by ($0.19). The firm had revenue of $646.30 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $634.01 million. E.W. Scripps had a negative net margin of 8.55% and a positive return on equity of 9.40%. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted ($0.15) EPS. As a group, research analysts forecast that E.W. Scripps will post 1.07 earnings per share for the current year.

E.W. Scripps Company Profile

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.