Brokerages Set Nexstar Media Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:NXST) Target Price at $204.29

Shares of Nexstar Media Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:NXST) have been assigned an average recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the seven analysts that are covering the company, MarketBeat.com reports. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold recommendation and six have assigned a buy recommendation to the company. The average 12 month price target among analysts that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $204.29.

NXST has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. StockNews.com raised Nexstar Media Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, November 8th. Loop Capital cut Nexstar Media Group from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and reduced their price target for the stock from $200.00 to $190.00 in a report on Friday, November 8th. Barrington Research reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $200.00 price target on shares of Nexstar Media Group in a report on Thursday, November 7th. Guggenheim reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of Nexstar Media Group in a report on Wednesday, January 22nd. Finally, Benchmark reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $215.00 price target on shares of Nexstar Media Group in a report on Friday, November 8th.

Nexstar Media Group Stock Performance

Shares of NXST stock opened at $153.34 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $4.76 billion, a PE ratio of 8.87, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.44 and a beta of 1.45. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $156.71 and a 200-day simple moving average of $164.11. The company has a quick ratio of 1.68, a current ratio of 1.68 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.98. Nexstar Media Group has a 52-week low of $147.25 and a 52-week high of $191.86.

Nexstar Media Group Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, February 26th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, February 12th will be issued a dividend of $1.86 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, February 12th. This represents a $7.44 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.85%. This is a boost from Nexstar Media Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.69. Nexstar Media Group’s dividend payout ratio is presently 39.10%.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Lisbeth Mcnabb sold 875 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, December 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $172.00, for a total value of $150,500.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 5,752 shares in the company, valued at $989,344. This represents a 13.20 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, CEO Perry A. Sook sold 35,205 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, December 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $162.13, for a total value of $5,707,786.65. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 674,694 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $109,388,138.22. This trade represents a 4.96 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 134,209 shares of company stock worth $21,499,239 over the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 6.30% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in NXST. Brooklyn Investment Group purchased a new position in Nexstar Media Group in the third quarter worth approximately $25,000. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. purchased a new position in Nexstar Media Group in the fourth quarter worth approximately $25,000. True Wealth Design LLC purchased a new position in Nexstar Media Group in the third quarter worth approximately $30,000. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB purchased a new position in Nexstar Media Group in the third quarter worth approximately $33,000. Finally, Capital Performance Advisors LLP purchased a new position in Nexstar Media Group in the third quarter worth approximately $44,000. 95.30% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.