Nexstar Media Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:NXST) Receives Average Recommendation of “Buy” from Brokerages

Nexstar Media Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:NXST) has earned a consensus rating of “Buy” from the eight ratings firms that are presently covering the firm, MarketBeat.com reports. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, six have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. The average twelve-month target price among brokerages that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $199.71.

Several research firms have recently commented on NXST. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their target price on Nexstar Media Group from $221.00 to $209.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, August 9th. StockNews.com downgraded Nexstar Media Group from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, October 4th. Benchmark cut their price objective on Nexstar Media Group from $225.00 to $215.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, October 14th. Guggenheim decreased their target price on shares of Nexstar Media Group from $200.00 to $198.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, October 4th. Finally, Barrington Research reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $200.00 price target on shares of Nexstar Media Group in a report on Thursday, August 8th.

Insider Activity at Nexstar Media Group

In other Nexstar Media Group news, EVP Rachel Morgan sold 6,196 shares of Nexstar Media Group stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $171.30, for a total value of $1,061,374.80. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. In other news, CFO Lee Ann Gliha sold 984 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $157.63, for a total transaction of $155,107.92. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 8,107 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,277,906.41. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, EVP Rachel Morgan sold 6,196 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $171.30, for a total transaction of $1,061,374.80. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 41,112 shares of company stock valued at $6,887,029. Corporate insiders own 6.30% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Nexstar Media Group

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. CX Institutional lifted its holdings in shares of Nexstar Media Group by 5.0% in the 3rd quarter. CX Institutional now owns 1,396 shares of the company’s stock valued at $231,000 after acquiring an additional 67 shares during the last quarter. Granite Group Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of Nexstar Media Group by 5.1% in the 1st quarter. Granite Group Advisors LLC now owns 1,489 shares of the company’s stock valued at $257,000 after purchasing an additional 72 shares during the last quarter. Blue Trust Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Nexstar Media Group by 7.3% in the 3rd quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 1,088 shares of the company’s stock worth $181,000 after purchasing an additional 74 shares during the period. Klein Pavlis & Peasley Financial Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Nexstar Media Group by 0.6% in the 2nd quarter. Klein Pavlis & Peasley Financial Inc. now owns 13,903 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,308,000 after purchasing an additional 87 shares during the period. Finally, SummerHaven Investment Management LLC increased its position in shares of Nexstar Media Group by 2.3% during the 2nd quarter. SummerHaven Investment Management LLC now owns 4,217 shares of the company’s stock valued at $700,000 after purchasing an additional 96 shares during the last quarter. 95.30% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Nexstar Media Group Trading Up 0.7 %

Shares of NASDAQ:NXST opened at $173.47 on Friday. Nexstar Media Group has a 52-week low of $133.55 and a 52-week high of $187.27. The stock has a market capitalization of $5.60 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.64, a PEG ratio of 0.19 and a beta of 1.49. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.92, a quick ratio of 1.78 and a current ratio of 1.78. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $165.92 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $165.85.

Nexstar Media Group (NASDAQ:NXST) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, August 8th. The company reported $3.54 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $4.48 by ($0.94). Nexstar Media Group had a net margin of 8.68% and a return on equity of 18.65%. The business had revenue of $1.27 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.28 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $2.64 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 2.3% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts expect that Nexstar Media Group will post 25.72 EPS for the current year.

Nexstar Media Group Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 23rd. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 9th were issued a $1.69 dividend. This represents a $6.76 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.90%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, August 9th. Nexstar Media Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 53.14%.

About Nexstar Media Group

Nexstar Media Group, Inc operates as a diversified media company that produces and distributes engaging local and national news, sports and entertainment content across the television and digital platforms in the United States. It owns, operates, programs, or provides sales and other services to various markets; and offers television programming services.