The E.W. Scripps Company (NASDAQ:SSP) Sees Large Decrease in Short Interest

The E.W. Scripps Company (NASDAQ:SSP) was the target of a large drop in short interest in April. As of April 15th, there was short interest totalling 3,910,000 shares, a drop of 26.6% from the March 31st total of 5,330,000 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 1,100,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 3.6 days. Approximately 6.4% of the shares of the stock are sold short.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Separately, Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price objective on E.W. Scripps from $9.00 to $7.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, February 9th.

E.W. Scripps Trading Up 0.3 %

NASDAQ SSP traded up $0.01 on Friday, hitting $3.70. 379,322 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,586,539. E.W. Scripps has a 52-week low of $2.93 and a 52-week high of $11.02. The firm has a market capitalization of $313.83 million, a P/E ratio of -0.31 and a beta of 1.93. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.91, a quick ratio of 1.41 and a current ratio of 1.41. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $3.95 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $6.04.

E.W. Scripps (NASDAQ:SSP) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Friday, February 23rd. The company reported ($0.02) earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.46 by ($0.48). E.W. Scripps had a positive return on equity of 1.81% and a negative net margin of 41.33%. The firm had revenue of $615.77 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $593.00 million. Research analysts forecast that E.W. Scripps will post 0.74 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On E.W. Scripps

Several hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Cove Street Capital LLC increased its position in shares of E.W. Scripps by 124.1% during the third quarter. Cove Street Capital LLC now owns 2,932,656 shares of the company’s stock worth $14,781,000 after acquiring an additional 1,623,777 shares during the period. Kennedy Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in E.W. Scripps by 15.1% during the 3rd quarter. Kennedy Capital Management LLC now owns 1,566,248 shares of the company’s stock worth $8,583,000 after purchasing an additional 205,143 shares during the period. Penn Capital Management Company LLC raised its position in E.W. Scripps by 4.2% during the 4th quarter. Penn Capital Management Company LLC now owns 1,214,951 shares of the company’s stock valued at $9,721,000 after purchasing an additional 49,313 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its position in E.W. Scripps by 21.2% during the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,203,306 shares of the company’s stock valued at $9,614,000 after purchasing an additional 210,673 shares in the last quarter. Finally, New York State Common Retirement Fund lifted its holdings in shares of E.W. Scripps by 0.4% in the 4th quarter. New York State Common Retirement Fund now owns 858,690 shares of the company’s stock worth $6,861,000 after buying an additional 3,275 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 67.81% of the company’s stock.

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.