E.W. Scripps (NASDAQ:SSP) Given New $7.00 Price Target at Benchmark

E.W. Scripps (NASDAQ:SSP - Free Report) had its price target decreased by Benchmark from $11.00 to $7.00 in a research report report published on Tuesday, Benzinga reports. Benchmark currently has a buy rating on the stock.

Separately, StockNews.com downgraded shares of E.W. Scripps from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research report on Thursday, August 15th.

E.W. Scripps Stock Performance

Shares of SSP stock traded up $0.02 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, reaching $2.29. The stock had a trading volume of 2,092,932 shares, compared to its average volume of 889,081. E.W. Scripps has a 1-year low of $1.68 and a 1-year high of $9.35. The firm has a market cap of $197.21 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -0.63 and a beta of 1.66. The company has a current ratio of 1.50, a quick ratio of 1.50 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.79. The business's fifty day moving average is $2.30 and its 200-day moving average is $2.76.

E.W. Scripps (NASDAQ:SSP - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Monday, November 4th. The company reported $0.37 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.56 by ($0.19). E.W. Scripps had a positive return on equity of 2.94% and a negative net margin of 11.06%. The business had revenue of $646.30 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $634.01 million. During the same quarter last year, the company posted ($0.15) EPS.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On E.W. Scripps

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in SSP. AQR Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in 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 buying an additional 2,212,959 shares in the last quarter. Millennium Management LLC raised its position in shares of E.W. Scripps by 270.6% in the second quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 3,001,601 shares of the company's stock worth $9,425,000 after acquiring an additional 2,191,666 shares during the period. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. boosted its stake in shares of E.W. Scripps by 1,619.1% during 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 in the last quarter. Cove Street Capital LLC grew its position in shares of E.W. Scripps by 34.2% during the 1st quarter. Cove Street Capital LLC now owns 3,703,082 shares of the company's stock valued at $14,553,000 after acquiring an additional 944,328 shares during the period. Finally, Marshall Wace LLP purchased a new position in shares of E.W. Scripps in the 2nd quarter valued at about $1,833,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 67.81% of the company's stock.

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.