Bridgewater Associates LP Sells 18,048 Shares of Nexstar Media Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:NXST)

Bridgewater Associates LP lessened its position in Nexstar Media Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:NXST) by 52.7% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 16,203 shares of the company’s stock after selling 18,048 shares during the quarter. Bridgewater Associates LP owned 0.05% of Nexstar Media Group worth $2,679,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its position in shares of Nexstar Media Group by 0.7% during the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,083,451 shares of the company’s stock valued at $179,149,000 after purchasing an additional 7,117 shares during the last quarter. Quest Partners LLC grew its position in Nexstar Media Group by 661.4% during the third quarter. Quest Partners LLC now owns 8,672 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,434,000 after acquiring an additional 7,533 shares during the last quarter. BNP PARIBAS ASSET MANAGEMENT Holding S.A. raised its stake in shares of Nexstar Media Group by 5.8% during the third quarter. BNP PARIBAS ASSET MANAGEMENT Holding S.A. now owns 111,905 shares of the company’s stock worth $18,504,000 after acquiring an additional 6,101 shares in the last quarter. GSA Capital Partners LLP lifted its holdings in shares of Nexstar Media Group by 211.2% in the 3rd quarter. GSA Capital Partners LLP now owns 6,195 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,024,000 after acquiring an additional 4,204 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Cornercap Investment Counsel Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Nexstar Media Group in the 2nd quarter valued at $570,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 95.30% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, insider Andrew Alford sold 3,175 shares of Nexstar Media Group stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, September 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $167.82, for a total transaction of $532,828.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 9,173 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,539,412.86. This trade represents a 25.71 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, insider Brett Jenkins sold 4,331 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $170.64, for a total transaction of $739,041.84. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 25,540 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,358,145.60. This trade represents a 14.50 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 45,423 shares of company stock worth $7,916,739. 6.30% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts recently commented on NXST shares. Loop Capital cut shares of Nexstar Media Group from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and decreased their target price for the stock from $200.00 to $190.00 in a research report on Friday, November 8th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lowered their target price on Nexstar Media Group from $207.00 to $205.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, August 9th. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price target on Nexstar Media Group from $221.00 to $209.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, August 9th. Benchmark reissued a “buy” rating and set a $215.00 price objective on shares of Nexstar Media Group in a research note on Friday, November 8th. Finally, StockNews.com raised shares of Nexstar Media Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, November 8th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $198.50.

Nexstar Media Group Stock Down 0.3 %

Shares of Nexstar Media Group stock opened at $170.59 on Friday. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $169.31 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $167.13. Nexstar Media Group, Inc. has a 12-month low of $141.38 and a 12-month high of $191.86. The company has a current ratio of 1.68, a quick ratio of 1.68 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.98. The company has a market cap of $5.29 billion, a P/E ratio of 9.87, a PEG ratio of 0.20 and a beta of 1.48.

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

Nexstar Media Group Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 29th. Investors of record on Friday, November 15th were paid a $1.69 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, November 15th. This represents a $6.76 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.96%. Nexstar Media Group’s payout ratio is 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.