Is The E.W. Scripps Company (NYSE:SSP) an exceptional investment now? The smart money is reducing their bets on the stock. The number of long hedge fund bets were trimmed by 1 lately.
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With all of this in mind, let’s take a glance at the key action surrounding The E.W. Scripps Company (NYSE:SSP).
What does the smart money think about The E.W. Scripps Company (NYSE:SSP)?
Heading into 2013, a total of 15 of the hedge funds we track were bullish in this stock, a change of -6% from the third quarter. With hedgies’ positions undergoing their usual ebb and flow, there exists an “upper tier” of noteworthy hedge fund managers who were boosting their stakes meaningfully.
Of the funds we track, Andrew Feldstein and Stephen Siderow’s Blue Mountain Capital had the largest position in The E.W. Scripps Company (NYSE:SSP), worth close to $41.8 million, accounting for 2.9% of its total 13F portfolio. The second largest stake is held by Jeffrey Gates of Gates Capital Management, with a $29.7 million position; 1.9% of its 13F portfolio is allocated to the company. Other hedgies that hold long positions include Mario Gabelli’s GAMCO Investors, Abby Flamholz and Yehuda Blinder’s ADAR Investment Management and Ken Griffin’s Citadel Investment Group.
Judging by the fact that The E.W. Scripps Company (NYSE:SSP) has faced bearish sentiment from hedge fund managers, logic holds that there exists a select few fund managers that decided to sell off their positions entirely at the end of the year. It’s worth mentioning that Steven Cohen’s SAC Capital Advisors cut the largest stake of the 450+ funds we track, comprising close to $0.2 million in stock.. Ben Levine, Andrew Manuel and Stefan Renold’s fund, LMR Partners, also cut its stock, about $0.1 million worth. These moves are intriguing to say the least, as aggregate hedge fund interest was cut by 1 funds at the end of the year.
How have insiders been trading The E.W. Scripps Company (NYSE:SSP)?
Insider buying is at its handiest when the company in question has seen transactions within the past half-year. Over the latest six-month time frame, The E.W. Scripps Company (NYSE:SSP) has seen zero unique insiders purchasing, and 8 insider sales (see the details of insider trades here).
Let’s check out hedge fund and insider activity in other stocks similar to The E.W. Scripps Company (NYSE:SSP). These stocks are Media General, Inc. (NYSE:MEG), The McClatchy Company (NYSE:MNI), The New York Times Company (NYSE:NYT), and Journal Communications, Inc. (NYSE:JRN). This group of stocks belong to the publishing – newspapers industry and their market caps resemble SSP’s market cap.
