Nexstar Media Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:NXST) Given Consensus Rating of “Moderate Buy” by Brokerages

Nexstar Media Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:NXST) has received an average recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the seven analysts that are presently covering the company, Marketbeat.com reports. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company. The average 1 year price objective among analysts that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $204.29.

Several research firms have commented on NXST. Guggenheim restated a “buy” rating on shares of Nexstar Media Group in a research note on Wednesday. StockNews.com raised shares of Nexstar Media Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, November 8th. Loop Capital downgraded Nexstar Media Group from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and lowered their target price for the company from $200.00 to $190.00 in a research report on Friday, November 8th. Benchmark reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $215.00 price target on shares of Nexstar Media Group in a research report on Friday, November 8th. Finally, Barrington Research reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $200.00 target price on shares of Nexstar Media Group in a research note on Thursday, November 7th.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CFO Lee Ann Gliha sold 330 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, December 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $158.23, for a total transaction of $52,215.90. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 8,610 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,362,360.30. This represents a 3.69 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Perry A. Sook sold 12,239 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, November 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $190.28, for a total transaction of $2,328,836.92. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 674,694 shares in the company, valued at $128,380,774.32. The trade was a 1.78 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 146,448 shares of company stock worth $23,828,076 in the last quarter. 6.30% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Nexstar Media Group

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. CX Institutional boosted its position in Nexstar Media Group by 5.0% in the third quarter. CX Institutional now owns 1,396 shares of the company’s stock valued at $231,000 after buying an additional 67 shares in the last quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC increased its holdings in Nexstar Media Group by 1.1% in the 4th quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 6,487 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,073,000 after purchasing an additional 68 shares in the last quarter. Blue Trust Inc. raised its position in Nexstar Media Group by 7.3% in the third quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 1,088 shares of the company’s stock valued at $181,000 after purchasing an additional 74 shares during the last quarter. Natixis Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of Nexstar Media Group by 1.2% during the third quarter. Natixis Advisors LLC now owns 10,185 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,684,000 after purchasing an additional 117 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Davis Capital Management raised its holdings in Nexstar Media Group by 2.0% in the 4th quarter. Davis Capital Management now owns 6,270 shares of the company’s stock valued at $990,000 after buying an additional 122 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 95.30% of the company’s stock.

Nexstar Media Group Price Performance

NASDAQ NXST opened at $157.72 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.98, a quick ratio of 1.68 and a current ratio of 1.68. The stock has a market cap of $4.89 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.12, a PEG ratio of 0.26 and a beta of 1.45. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $161.79 and a 200 day simple moving average of $166.96. Nexstar Media Group has a 52-week low of $147.25 and a 52-week high of $191.86.

Nexstar Media Group (NASDAQ:NXST) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, November 7th. The company reported $5.27 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $5.51 by ($0.24). Nexstar Media Group had a net margin of 11.39% and a return on equity of 26.03%. The company had revenue of $1.37 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.37 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $0.70 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was up 20.7% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts anticipate that Nexstar Media Group will post 24.53 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Nexstar Media Group Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 29th. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 15th were given a $1.69 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, November 15th. This represents a $6.76 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.29%. Nexstar Media Group’s payout ratio is presently 39.10%.

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.