Louisiana State Employees Retirement System Makes New $1.50 Million Investment in Nexstar Media Group, Inc. $NXST

Louisiana State Employees Retirement System bought a new stake in shares of Nexstar Media Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:NXST) in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm bought 8,300 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,501,000.

Several other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in NXST. M&T Bank Corp raised its holdings in Nexstar Media Group by 2,573.4% in the 4th quarter. M&T Bank Corp now owns 140,112 shares of the company’s stock worth $28,494,000 after purchasing an additional 134,871 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its position in shares of Nexstar Media Group by 1.7% during the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 773,443 shares of the company’s stock valued at $157,114,000 after buying an additional 13,084 shares during the last quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. lifted its stake in Nexstar Media Group by 3,648.3% in the 4th quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 64,995 shares of the company’s stock worth $13,197,000 after purchasing an additional 63,261 shares in the last quarter. Sentinel Dome Partners LLC bought a new position in Nexstar Media Group during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $2,315,000. Finally, CPC Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of Nexstar Media Group by 114.3% during the 1st quarter. CPC Advisors LLC now owns 26,651 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,819,000 after acquiring an additional 14,217 shares during the last quarter. 95.30% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on NXST shares. Citigroup upgraded Nexstar Media Group from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and decreased their price objective for the company from $252.00 to $220.00 in a research report on Friday, April 10th. Zacks Research raised shares of Nexstar Media Group from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 13th. Benchmark decreased their price objective on shares of Nexstar Media Group from $300.00 to $250.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, April 6th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft decreased 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 reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $290.00 target price on shares of Nexstar Media Group in a research note on Tuesday, April 28th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have assigned a Buy rating and one has issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Nexstar Media Group presently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $259.67.

Nexstar Media Group Price Performance

NASDAQ NXST opened at $181.09 on Friday. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $185.17 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $204.76. The company has a current ratio of 1.76, a quick ratio of 1.76 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.53. Nexstar Media Group, Inc. has a 12-month low of $154.47 and a 12-month high of $254.30. The firm has a market capitalization of $5.53 billion, a P/E ratio of 38.86, a P/E/G ratio of 0.46 and a beta of 0.91.

Nexstar Media Group Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 29th. Investors of record on Friday, May 15th were paid a dividend of $1.86 per share. This represents a $7.44 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.1%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, May 15th. Nexstar Media Group’s payout ratio is 159.66%.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Charles Thomas Mcmillen sold 1,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, June 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $180.00, for a total transaction of $180,000.00. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 5,658 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,018,440. This represents a 15.02% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, insider Dana Zimmer sold 915 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, June 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $176.42, for a total value of $161,424.30. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 5,738 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,012,297.96. This trade represents a 13.75% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. Insiders sold 22,813 shares of company stock worth $4,174,731 over the last quarter. Company insiders own 7.00% of the company’s stock.

Nexstar Media Group Profile

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.