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

Nexstar Media Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:NXST) has been assigned a consensus recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the eight brokerages that are currently covering the firm, MarketBeat reports. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold recommendation and seven have issued a buy recommendation on the company. The average 12 month price target among brokerages that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $225.00.

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on the company. Benchmark boosted their price target on Nexstar Media Group from $220.00 to $225.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, August 8th. Weiss Ratings restated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Nexstar Media Group in a research report on Wednesday, October 8th. Guggenheim boosted their target price on Nexstar Media Group from $220.00 to $250.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 20th. Barrington Research reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $225.00 target price on shares of Nexstar Media Group in a research report on Tuesday, August 19th. Finally, Zacks Research upgraded Nexstar Media Group to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, August 8th.

Nexstar Media Group Stock Performance

Shares of NXST stock opened at $190.77 on Thursday. The stock has a market capitalization of $5.78 billion, a PE ratio of 9.90, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.42 and a beta of 1.01. Nexstar Media Group has a 52-week low of $141.66 and a 52-week high of $223.36. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $200.80 and its 200 day moving average price is $182.72. The company has a quick ratio of 1.69, a current ratio of 1.69 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.80.

Nexstar Media Group (NASDAQ:NXST) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 7th. The company reported $3.06 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.95 by $0.11. The firm had revenue of $1.23 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.21 billion. Nexstar Media Group had a return on equity of 28.40% and a net margin of 11.90%.The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 3.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $3.54 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Nexstar Media Group will post 21.62 EPS for the current year.

Nexstar Media Group Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 29th. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 15th were given a dividend of $1.86 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, August 15th. This represents a $7.44 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.9%. Nexstar Media Group’s payout ratio is presently 38.63%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Nexstar Media Group

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in NXST. Claret Asset Management Corp lifted its position in Nexstar Media Group by 4.1% during the 2nd quarter. Claret Asset Management Corp now owns 1,348 shares of the company’s stock worth $233,000 after acquiring an additional 53 shares during the last quarter. Impact Capital Partners LLC lifted its position in Nexstar Media Group by 2.0% during the 2nd quarter. Impact Capital Partners LLC now owns 2,857 shares of the company’s stock worth $494,000 after acquiring an additional 55 shares during the last quarter. Merit Financial Group LLC lifted its position in Nexstar Media Group by 1.7% during the 3rd quarter. Merit Financial Group LLC now owns 3,515 shares of the company’s stock worth $695,000 after acquiring an additional 59 shares during the last quarter. Lynx Investment Advisory lifted its position in Nexstar Media Group by 3.8% during the 2nd quarter. Lynx Investment Advisory now owns 1,800 shares of the company’s stock worth $311,000 after acquiring an additional 66 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Glassy Mountain Advisors Inc. lifted its position in Nexstar Media Group by 0.4% during the 1st quarter. Glassy Mountain Advisors Inc. now owns 20,497 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,674,000 after acquiring an additional 73 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 95.30% of the company’s stock.

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.