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

Shares of Nexstar Media Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:NXST) have been given an average rating of “Moderate Buy” by the eight brokerages that are presently covering the stock, Marketbeat.com reports. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has given a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company. The average 12-month price target among brokers that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $259.00.

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on the company. Zacks Research downgraded Nexstar Media Group from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a report on Monday, August 10th. Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Nexstar Media Group in a report on Wednesday, May 27th. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Nexstar Media Group from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Sunday, July 12th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lowered their price objective on shares of 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. Finally, Barrington Research reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $290.00 target price on shares of Nexstar Media Group in a research note on Tuesday, April 28th.

Nexstar Media Group Stock Performance

Shares of Nexstar Media Group stock opened at $186.14 on Wednesday. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $180.87 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $199.04. Nexstar Media Group has a 1-year low of $154.47 and a 1-year high of $254.30. The company has a current ratio of 1.56, a quick ratio of 1.56 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.09. The company has a market cap of $5.73 billion, a P/E ratio of 35.73 and a beta of 0.91.

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

Nexstar Media Group Dividend Announcement

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

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Charles Thomas Mcmillen sold 1,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, June 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $180.00, for a total transaction of $180,000.00. Following the transaction, the director owned 5,658 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,018,440. This represents a 15.02% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, COO Michael Biard sold 1,227 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, June 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $174.21, for a total value of $213,755.67. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer owned 17,105 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,979,862.05. This represents a 6.69% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 21,584 shares of company stock valued at $3,899,531. Corporate insiders own 7.00% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Nexstar Media Group

Hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Bank of New York Mellon Corp acquired a new position in shares of Nexstar Media Group during the second quarter valued at about $27,241,000. QVT Financial LP increased its position in shares of Nexstar Media Group by 200.0% during the fourth quarter. QVT Financial LP now owns 155,281 shares of the company’s stock worth $31,530,000 after acquiring an additional 310,562 shares in the last quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Nexstar Media Group by 118.1% in the 2nd quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 543,612 shares of the company’s stock worth $93,795,000 after acquiring an additional 294,308 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Nexstar Media Group in the 4th quarter worth about $41,474,000. Finally, Alliancebernstein L.P. lifted its position in Nexstar Media Group by 27.1% in the 2nd quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. now owns 882,322 shares of the company’s stock valued at $152,598,000 after acquiring an additional 187,864 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 95.30% of the company’s stock.

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.