Nexstar Media Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:NXST) Receives $193.83 Average Target Price from Brokerages

Shares of Nexstar Media Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:NXST) have received an average recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the five ratings firms that are presently covering the firm, MarketBeat reports. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company. The average 12 month price target among brokers that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $193.83.

Several brokerages have issued reports on NXST. Rosenblatt Securities lowered their price target on Nexstar Media Group from $216.00 to $213.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, March 13th. TheStreet upgraded Nexstar Media Group from a “c+” rating to a “b-” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 1st. Finally, Barrington Research restated an “outperform” rating and set a $200.00 target price on shares of Nexstar Media Group in a report on Thursday, March 7th.

Nexstar Media Group Stock Performance

Shares of NXST stock opened at $163.11 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $5.45 billion, a PE ratio of 16.94, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.62 and a beta of 1.50. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $165.67 and a 200-day moving average of $158.72. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.90, a current ratio of 1.53 and a quick ratio of 1.53. Nexstar Media Group has a one year low of $132.30 and a one year high of $187.32.

Nexstar Media Group (NASDAQ:NXST) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 28th. The company reported $3.32 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.42 by ($1.10). Nexstar Media Group had a return on equity of 14.06% and a net margin of 7.03%. The firm had revenue of $1.30 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.32 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $8.04 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 12.3% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Nexstar Media Group will post 26.73 earnings per share for the current year.

Nexstar Media Group Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 23rd. Investors of record on Friday, February 9th were given a $1.69 dividend. This represents a $6.76 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.14%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, February 8th. This is a positive change from Nexstar Media Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.35. Nexstar Media Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 70.20%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Nexstar Media Group

In other news, Director Dennis J. Fitzsimons sold 2,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $170.82, for a total transaction of $341,640.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 12,027 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,054,452.14. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. In related news, CEO Perry A. Sook sold 31,758 shares of Nexstar Media Group stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $158.66, for a total value of $5,038,724.28. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 636,788 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $101,032,784.08. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director Dennis J. Fitzsimons sold 2,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $170.82, for a total value of $341,640.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 12,027 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,054,452.14. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 46,508 shares of company stock worth $7,487,950. Corporate insiders own 5.90% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System grew its stake in shares of Nexstar Media Group by 2.2% in the first quarter. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System now owns 9,300 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,602,000 after buying an additional 200 shares in the last quarter. Herbst Group LLC acquired a new stake in Nexstar Media Group in the first quarter valued at $207,000. Raymond James Financial Services Advisors Inc. grew its position in shares of Nexstar Media Group by 4.1% in the 1st quarter. Raymond James Financial Services Advisors Inc. now owns 13,002 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,240,000 after acquiring an additional 517 shares during the period. Raymond James & Associates grew its position in shares of Nexstar Media Group by 2.6% in the 1st quarter. Raymond James & Associates now owns 36,936 shares of the company’s stock valued at $6,364,000 after acquiring an additional 938 shares during the period. Finally, State of Michigan Retirement System increased its stake in shares of Nexstar Media Group by 2.6% during the 1st quarter. State of Michigan Retirement System now owns 7,900 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,361,000 after purchasing an additional 200 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.