Insider Selling: Nexstar Media Group (NASDAQ:NXST) COO Sells $458,046.30 in Stock

Nexstar Media Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:NXST) COO Michael Biard sold 2,465 shares of Nexstar Media Group stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $185.82, for a total value of $458,046.30. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer owned 20,890 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,881,779.80. This trade represents a 10.55% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards.

Michael Biard also recently made the following trade(s):

• On Friday, June 12th, Michael Biard sold 1,227 shares of Nexstar Media Group stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $174.21, for a total value of $213,755.67.
• On Wednesday, May 27th, Michael Biard sold 989 shares of Nexstar Media Group stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $187.32, for a total value of $185,259.48.

Nexstar Media Group Stock Down 2.0%

NASDAQ NXST opened at $185.52 on Thursday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.56, a current ratio of 1.56 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.09. The company has a fifty day moving average of $181.89 and a two-hundred day moving average of $198.48. The firm has a market capitalization of $5.72 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 35.61 and a beta of 0.91. Nexstar Media Group, Inc. has a 52 week low of $154.47 and a 52 week high of $254.30.

Nexstar Media Group (NASDAQ:NXST) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, August 6th. The company reported $3.61 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $5.98 by ($2.37). The firm had revenue of $1.99 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.97 billion. Nexstar Media Group had a net margin of 3.20% and a return on equity of 24.02%. The company’s revenue was up 62.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $3.06 EPS. On average, analysts predict that Nexstar Media Group, Inc. will post 32.88 earnings per share for the current year.

Nexstar Media Group Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 28th. Investors of record on Friday, August 14th will be given a $1.86 dividend. This represents a $7.44 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.0%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, August 14th. Nexstar Media Group’s dividend payout ratio is 142.80%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of NXST. Merit Financial Group LLC grew its position in shares of Nexstar Media Group by 1.6% during the fourth quarter. Merit Financial Group LLC now owns 3,571 shares of the company’s stock worth $725,000 after buying an additional 56 shares in the last quarter. Truist Financial Corp raised its holdings in Nexstar Media Group by 5.2% in the fourth quarter. Truist Financial Corp now owns 1,139 shares of the company’s stock valued at $231,000 after acquiring an additional 56 shares in the last quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. raised its holdings in Nexstar Media Group by 15.7% in the second quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. now owns 589 shares of the company’s stock valued at $102,000 after acquiring an additional 80 shares in the last quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC lifted its stake in Nexstar Media Group by 3.2% in the fourth quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC now owns 2,975 shares of the company’s stock worth $604,000 after acquiring an additional 93 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund lifted its stake in Nexstar Media Group by 1.7% in the first quarter. Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund now owns 5,826 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,054,000 after acquiring an additional 100 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 95.30% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

NXST has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Nexstar Media Group in a research report on Monday. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft decreased their price target on Nexstar Media Group from $270.00 to $255.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, May 11th. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price objective on Nexstar Media Group from $253.00 to $249.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, August 7th. Zacks Research lowered Nexstar Media Group from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research note on Monday, August 10th. Finally, Wall Street Zen downgraded Nexstar Media Group from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Sunday, July 12th. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, one has assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Nexstar Media Group has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $259.00.

About Nexstar Media Group

Nexstar Media Group, Inc is a diversified American media company engaged primarily in the ownership, operation and strategic affiliation of local television stations, digital platforms and cable networks. The company provides a range of broadcast content, including local news, sports coverage, entertainment programming and syndicated shows, reaching audiences in more than 100 television markets across the United States.

Founded in 1996 by entrepreneur Perry Sook and headquartered in Irving, Texas, Nexstar has built its presence through organic growth and a series of high-profile acquisitions.