Analysts were expecting The E. W. Scripps Company (SSP) [Chart - News - Analysis] to report earnings of $0.01 for last quarter, but SSP missed expectations with actual earnings of $-0.07---8 cents below the consensus estimate.

If you compare last quarter's earnings to the $-0.39 the company made per share during the same quarter a year ago, you can see that SSP’s earnings are up this year.

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Also, if you compare SSP's -3.00% projected earnings-per-share (EPS) growth rate for the next five years with the projected EPS growth rate of 7.38% for the Publishing - Newspapers industry as a whole during that same time frame, you can see that analysts expect SSP to underperform the industry in the future---which is a bad sign for the stock.

Drilling down a little deeper into the Publishing - Newspapers industry, you can see how analysts believe SSP will stack up against some of the other stocks in the industry, like Journal Communications Inc. (JRN) [Chart - News - Analysis] and Daily Journal Corp. (DJCO) [Chart - News - Analysis], in the future. Analysts believe JRN's earnings are going to grow at a rate of 5.00% while DJCO's earnings are going to grow at a rate of 0.00%.

Earnings season can be a volatile time in the stock market. Check out these videos and articles to be better prepared to take advantage of the large price moves that tend to accompany earnings announcements.

- Earnings Season is Here - Find Out How to Trade It

- Using Options to Trade Earnings

- Understanding Stock Analyst Research and Recommendations

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