Monday, August 09, 2021
E.W. Scripps Company (SSP)
Flexing Its Free Cash Flow Muscle
The E.W. Scripps Co. (www.scripps.com) serves audiences and businesses through a growing portfolio of television, print and digital media brands. After approval of its acquisition of two Granite Broadcasting stations later this year, Scripps will own 21 local television stations as well as daily newspapers in 13 markets across the United States. It also runs an expanding collection of local and national digital journalism and information businesses including digital video news service Newsy. Scripps also produces television programming, runs an award-winning investigative reporting newsroom in Washington, D.C., and serves as the longtime steward of one of the nation’s largest, most successful and longest-running educational programs, Scripps National Spelling Bee. Founded in 1879, Scripps is focused on the stories of tomorrow.
Michael Kupinski, Director of Research, Noble Capital Markets, Inc.
Refer to the full report for the price target, fundamental analysis, and rating.
Q2 exceeds expectations. Total company revenues of $565.1 million, an increase of 57.5% year over year, was better than our $550.5 million estimate. Both Local Media and Networks performied better than our estimates. Adj. EBITDA of $158.7 million was better than our $132.7 million estimate, with the Local Media segment contributing to the largest upside variance.
Ups free cash flow guidance. Free cash flow guidance was increased from a range of $210 million to $240 million to a range of $240 million to $260 million. Management anticipates that its debt leverage will be in the low 4s by year end 2022. We are raising our financial assessment from 3.5 checks to 4.0 checks …
This research is provided by Noble Capital Markets, Inc., a FINRA and S.E.C. registered broker-dealer (B/D).
*Analyst certification and important disclosures included in the full report. NOTE: investment decisions should not be based upon the content of this research summary. Proper due diligence is required before making any investment decision.