The E.W. Scripps Company (NASDAQ:SSP) Short Interest Update

The E.W. Scripps Company (NASDAQ:SSP) was the target of a large growth in short interest in August. As of August 31st, there was short interest totalling 4,410,000 shares, a growth of 15.1% from the August 15th total of 3,830,000 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 767,800 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 5.7 days.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have issued reports on SSP. StockNews.com downgraded E.W. Scripps from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 15th. Benchmark reduced their target price on shares of E.W. Scripps from $14.00 to $11.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, August 12th.

Institutional Trading of E.W. Scripps

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Cove Street Capital LLC lifted its holdings in shares of E.W. Scripps by 34.2% in the first quarter. Cove Street Capital LLC now owns 3,703,082 shares of the company’s stock worth $14,553,000 after buying an additional 944,328 shares in the last quarter. Gamco Investors INC. ET AL boosted its stake in E.W. Scripps by 0.8% in the first quarter. Gamco Investors INC. ET AL now owns 3,360,347 shares of the company’s stock worth $13,206,000 after buying an additional 27,192 shares in the last quarter. Millennium Management LLC grew its position in E.W. Scripps by 270.6% during the second quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 3,001,601 shares of the company’s stock valued at $9,425,000 after acquiring an additional 2,191,666 shares during the last quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC raised its stake in shares of E.W. Scripps by 1,154.7% during the second quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 2,404,607 shares of the company’s stock worth $7,550,000 after acquiring an additional 2,212,959 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Assenagon Asset Management S.A. lifted its holdings in shares of E.W. Scripps by 1,619.1% in the 2nd quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 2,203,186 shares of the company’s stock worth $6,918,000 after acquiring an additional 2,075,027 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 67.81% of the company’s stock.

E.W. Scripps Stock Performance

SSP stock traded down $0.01 during midday trading on Monday, hitting $2.00. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 35,212 shares, compared to its average volume of 899,782. The stock has a market cap of $170.78 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -0.17 and a beta of 1.73. The company has a quick ratio of 1.50, a current ratio of 1.50 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.79. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $2.65 and its 200 day moving average price is $3.09. E.W. Scripps has a 1 year low of $1.68 and a 1 year high of $9.35.

E.W. Scripps (NASDAQ:SSP) last posted its quarterly earnings results 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 negative net margin of 11.06% and a positive return on equity of 2.94%. The company had revenue of $573.63 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $586.65 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted ($0.09) EPS. On average, equities analysts forecast that E.W. Scripps will post 0.75 EPS for the current year.

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.