Nexstar Media Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:NXST) Given Consensus Recommendation of “Moderate Buy” by Brokerages

Shares of Nexstar Media Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:NXST) have earned an average rating of “Moderate Buy” from the seven ratings firms that are presently covering the company, Marketbeat.com reports. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold recommendation and six have assigned a buy recommendation to the company. The average 12-month target price among brokerages that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $204.29.

NXST has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Barrington Research reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $200.00 target price on shares of Nexstar Media Group in a research note on Thursday, November 7th. Guggenheim dropped their price objective on Nexstar Media Group from $200.00 to $198.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, October 4th. Benchmark reissued a “buy” rating and set a $215.00 target price on shares of Nexstar Media Group in a research report on Friday, November 8th. Loop Capital downgraded Nexstar Media Group from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and lowered their price target for the company from $200.00 to $190.00 in a report on Friday, November 8th. Finally, StockNews.com raised shares of Nexstar Media Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, November 8th.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO Perry A. Sook sold 52,808 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, December 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $157.41, for a total value of $8,312,507.28. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 674,694 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $106,203,582.54. The trade was a 7.26 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director Charles Thomas Mcmillen sold 750 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, December 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $159.93, for a total value of $119,947.50. Following the sale, the director now owns 6,975 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,115,511.75. This trade represents a 9.71 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 146,448 shares of company stock valued at $23,828,076 in the last ninety days. 6.30% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Nexstar Media Group

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in NXST. CX Institutional boosted its holdings in Nexstar Media Group by 5.0% in the 3rd quarter. CX Institutional now owns 1,396 shares of the company’s stock valued at $231,000 after purchasing an additional 67 shares in the last quarter. Blue Trust Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Nexstar Media Group by 7.3% in the 3rd quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 1,088 shares of the company’s stock valued at $181,000 after buying an additional 74 shares during the period. Natixis Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of 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 buying an additional 117 shares in the last quarter. Quarry LP grew its holdings in Nexstar Media Group by 77.8% during the second quarter. Quarry LP now owns 297 shares of the company’s stock worth $49,000 after acquiring an additional 130 shares during the period. Finally, Brooklyn Investment Group purchased a new position in Nexstar Media Group in the third quarter worth $25,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 95.30% of the company’s stock.

Nexstar Media Group Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ NXST opened at $159.29 on Friday. 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 company has a market cap of $4.94 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.21, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.20 and a beta of 1.45. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $167.43 and its two-hundred day moving average is $167.51. Nexstar Media Group has a 1-year low of $147.25 and a 1-year high of $191.86.

Nexstar Media Group (NASDAQ:NXST) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, November 7th. The company reported $5.27 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $5.51 by ($0.24). Nexstar Media Group had a net margin of 11.39% and a return on equity of 26.03%. The firm had revenue of $1.37 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.37 billion. During the same period last year, the business earned $0.70 EPS. The firm’s revenue was up 20.7% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts forecast that Nexstar Media Group will post 24.53 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Nexstar Media Group Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 29th. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 15th were given a dividend of $1.69 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, November 15th. This represents a $6.76 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.24%. Nexstar Media Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 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.