Nexstar Media Group’s (NXST) “Outperform” Rating Reiterated at Barrington Research

Barrington Research reaffirmed their outperform rating on shares of Nexstar Media Group (NASDAQ:NXST) in a report issued on Thursday,Benzinga reports. Barrington Research currently has a $200.00 price target on the stock.

Several other brokerages also recently commented on NXST. Benchmark reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $215.00 price target on shares of Nexstar Media Group in a report on Friday, November 8th. Loop Capital downgraded Nexstar Media Group from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and reduced their price target for the stock from $200.00 to $190.00 in a report on Friday, November 8th. Guggenheim reissued a “buy” rating on shares of Nexstar Media Group in a research note on Wednesday, January 22nd. Finally, StockNews.com raised Nexstar Media Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, November 8th. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Nexstar Media Group has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $204.29.

Nexstar Media Group Trading Up 11.1 %

Shares of NXST stock opened at $162.58 on Thursday. The company has a market cap of $5.04 billion, a PE ratio of 9.40, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.45 and a beta of 1.45. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.98, a current ratio of 1.68 and a quick ratio of 1.68. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $155.08 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $163.29. Nexstar Media Group has a 1 year low of $146.04 and a 1 year high of $191.86.

Nexstar Media Group (NASDAQ:NXST) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 27th. The company reported $7.56 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $9.22 by ($1.66). Nexstar Media Group had a return on equity of 26.03% and a net margin of 11.39%. The company had revenue of $1.49 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.48 billion. Research analysts predict that Nexstar Media Group will post 21.62 earnings per share for the current year.

Nexstar Media Group Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, February 26th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, February 12th were given a dividend of $1.86 per share. This represents a $7.44 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.58%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, February 12th. This is a boost from Nexstar Media Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.69. Nexstar Media Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 43.03%.

Insider Transactions at Nexstar Media Group

In related news, Director Lisbeth Mcnabb sold 875 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, December 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $172.00, for a total transaction of $150,500.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 5,752 shares in the company, valued at $989,344. The trade was a 13.20 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, CEO Perry A. Sook sold 37,025 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, December 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $160.14, for a total transaction of $5,929,183.50. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 674,694 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $108,045,497.16. The trade was a 5.20 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders sold 127,493 shares of company stock valued at $20,354,366. Corporate insiders own 6.30% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Nexstar Media Group

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in NXST. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC grew its stake in Nexstar Media Group by 1.1% during the 4th quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 6,487 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,073,000 after buying an additional 68 shares during the last quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp lifted its position in Nexstar Media Group by 15.3% during the fourth quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 550 shares of the company’s stock valued at $87,000 after purchasing an additional 73 shares during the period. Mariner LLC lifted its position in Nexstar Media Group by 5.3% during the fourth quarter. Mariner LLC now owns 2,300 shares of the company’s stock valued at $363,000 after purchasing an additional 115 shares during the period. Natixis Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in Nexstar Media Group by 1.2% in the third quarter. Natixis Advisors LLC now owns 10,185 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,684,000 after purchasing an additional 117 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Focus Partners Wealth grew its position in Nexstar Media Group by 7.3% during the 4th quarter. Focus Partners Wealth now owns 1,726 shares of the company’s stock worth $273,000 after purchasing an additional 117 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 95.30% of the company’s stock.

Nexstar Media Group Company Profile

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.