E.W. Scripps (NASDAQ:SSP) Posts Earnings Results, Misses Estimates By $0.24 EPS

E.W. Scripps (NASDAQ:SSP) announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday. The company reported ($0.40) EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.16) by ($0.24), Zacks reports. The company had revenue of $525.85 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $523.58 million. E.W. Scripps had a net margin of 4.25% and a return on equity of 17.68%.

E.W. Scripps Stock Up 24.9%

Shares of NASDAQ:SSP traded up $0.51 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $2.56. 5,845,529 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 905,690. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $2.57 and its 200-day simple moving average is $2.71. E.W. Scripps has a one year low of $1.36 and a one year high of $4.17. The company has a market cap of $226.13 million, a P/E ratio of 5.33 and a beta of 0.99. The company has a quick ratio of 1.27, a current ratio of 1.27 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.92.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On E.W. Scripps

Several hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in SSP. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in E.W. Scripps by 0.7% during the second quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,516,298 shares of the company’s stock worth $4,459,000 after purchasing an additional 10,957 shares during the last quarter. Bank of America Corp DE lifted its position in E.W. Scripps by 3.3% during the 2nd quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 525,451 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,545,000 after buying an additional 16,872 shares in the last quarter. Bridgeway Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of E.W. Scripps by 5.9% during the 2nd quarter. Bridgeway Capital Management LLC now owns 441,254 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,297,000 after buying an additional 24,541 shares during the last quarter. Empowered Funds LLC grew its holdings in shares of E.W. Scripps by 8.6% in the 1st 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. Finally, Prudential Financial Inc. increased its position in shares of E.W. Scripps by 2.4% in the second quarter. Prudential Financial Inc. now owns 182,344 shares of the company’s stock valued at $536,000 after acquiring an additional 4,342 shares during the last quarter. 67.81% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price target on shares of E.W. Scripps from $4.00 to $3.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, August 11th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “sell (d)” rating on shares of E.W. Scripps in a research note on Wednesday, October 8th. Finally, Wall Street Zen cut E.W. Scripps from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Sunday, August 31st. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, one has given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $5.50.

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.