Nexstar Media Group (NASDAQ:NXST) Downgraded to Hold Rating by StockNews.com

StockNews.com cut shares of Nexstar Media Group (NASDAQ:NXST) from a buy rating to a hold rating in a research note published on Monday morning.

Several other brokerages have also recently commented on NXST. Guggenheim boosted their price target on shares of Nexstar Media Group from $210.00 to $220.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday. Barrington Research reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $200.00 target price on shares of Nexstar Media Group in a research report on Thursday, February 27th. Loop Capital raised Nexstar Media Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their price target for the company from $190.00 to $200.00 in a research note on Friday. Finally, Benchmark lifted their price objective on Nexstar Media Group from $200.00 to $225.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $210.29.

Nexstar Media Group Stock Up 2.3 %

Shares of NXST opened at $172.96 on Monday. The business’s 50 day moving average is $155.29 and its 200 day moving average is $163.47. The company has a current ratio of 1.68, a quick ratio of 1.68 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.98. Nexstar Media Group has a 12-month low of $146.04 and a 12-month high of $191.86. The company has a market capitalization of $5.37 billion, a PE ratio of 10.00, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.45 and a beta of 1.45.

Nexstar Media Group (NASDAQ:NXST) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 27th. The company reported $7.56 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $9.22 by ($1.66). Nexstar Media Group had a net margin of 11.39% and a return on equity of 26.03%. The company had revenue of $1.49 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.48 billion. Research analysts expect that Nexstar Media Group will post 21.62 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Nexstar Media Group Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, February 26th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, February 12th were paid a $1.86 dividend. This represents a $7.44 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.30%. This is a positive change from Nexstar Media Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.69. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, February 12th. Nexstar Media Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 43.03%.

Insider Transactions at Nexstar Media Group

In related news, CEO Perry A. Sook sold 52,808 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, December 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $157.41, for a total transaction of $8,312,507.28. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 674,694 shares in the company, valued at approximately $106,203,582.54. This represents a 7.26 % decrease in their position. The sale 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 stock in a transaction dated Thursday, December 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $159.93, for a total transaction of $119,947.50. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 6,975 shares in the company, valued at $1,115,511.75. This trade represents a 9.71 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 127,493 shares of company stock worth $20,354,366. 6.30% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Nexstar Media Group

A number of large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its position in shares of Nexstar Media Group by 0.4% during the fourth quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,331,355 shares of the company’s stock worth $210,314,000 after purchasing an additional 4,704 shares during the last quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. increased its stake in Nexstar Media Group by 27,180.2% in the 4th quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 1,206,877 shares of the company’s stock worth $190,650,000 after buying an additional 1,202,453 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its holdings in Nexstar Media Group by 1.7% during the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,102,126 shares of the company’s stock valued at $174,103,000 after buying an additional 18,675 shares in the last quarter. Demars Financial Group LLC boosted its position in Nexstar Media Group by 16,009.5% in the 4th quarter. Demars Financial Group LLC now owns 773,737 shares of the company’s stock valued at $122,227,000 after buying an additional 768,934 shares during the period. Finally, Northern Trust Corp grew its stake in Nexstar Media Group by 22.3% in the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 463,139 shares of the company’s stock worth $73,162,000 after acquiring an additional 84,367 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors 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.