Short Interest in The E.W. Scripps Company (NASDAQ:SSP) Grows By 33.6%

The E.W. Scripps Company (NASDAQ:SSP) saw a large growth in short interest in May. As of May 31st, there was short interest totalling 4,330,000 shares, a growth of 33.6% from the May 15th total of 3,240,000 shares. Currently, 7.2% of the company’s stock are sold short. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 1,240,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 3.5 days.

E.W. Scripps Price Performance

Shares of SSP traded down $0.12 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $2.03. 1,835,522 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,006,469. The stock has a market cap of $173.34 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -0.17 and a beta of 1.75. E.W. Scripps has a 1-year low of $2.00 and a 1-year high of $11.02. The company has a 50 day moving average of $3.24 and a 200-day moving average of $5.22. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.82, a quick ratio of 1.43 and a current ratio of 1.43.

E.W. Scripps (NASDAQ:SSP) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 9th. The company reported ($0.10) EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.06) by ($0.04). The firm had revenue of $561.46 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $571.01 million. E.W. Scripps had a positive return on equity of 3.17% and a negative net margin of 39.87%. Analysts expect that E.W. Scripps will post 0.75 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On E.W. Scripps

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Jump Financial LLC purchased a new position in E.W. Scripps in the third quarter worth approximately $87,000. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its holdings in shares of E.W. Scripps by 13.9% during the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 992,633 shares of the company’s stock worth $5,440,000 after purchasing an additional 120,889 shares during the period. Wolverine Asset Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of E.W. Scripps during the 3rd quarter worth about $247,000. PAX Financial Group LLC raised its holdings in E.W. Scripps by 4.4% in the 3rd quarter. PAX Financial Group LLC now owns 54,225 shares of the company’s stock valued at $297,000 after buying an additional 2,282 shares during the period. Finally, Hsbc Holdings PLC acquired a new position in E.W. Scripps in the third quarter valued at about $172,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 67.81% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price target on shares of E.W. Scripps from $6.00 to $4.50 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, May 13th. Benchmark reissued a “buy” rating and set a $14.00 target price on shares of E.W. Scripps in a report on Monday, May 13th. Finally, StockNews.com raised shares of E.W. Scripps from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, May 17th.

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.