Nexstar Media Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:NXST) Stock Position Reduced by JPMorgan Chase & Co.

JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased its stake in Nexstar Media Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:NXST) by 17.2% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 418,372 shares of the company’s stock after selling 86,755 shares during the quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. owned approximately 1.35% of Nexstar Media Group worth $66,090,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of NXST. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. purchased a new stake in shares of Nexstar Media Group during the fourth quarter worth $25,000. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB acquired a new position in Nexstar Media Group in the 3rd quarter worth about $33,000. Jones Financial Companies Lllp raised its stake in shares of Nexstar Media Group by 15.3% during the 4th quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 550 shares of the company’s stock worth $87,000 after purchasing an additional 73 shares in the last quarter. Quarry LP lifted its holdings in shares of Nexstar Media Group by 111.1% during the 3rd quarter. Quarry LP now owns 627 shares of the company’s stock valued at $104,000 after buying an additional 330 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC grew its stake in shares of Nexstar Media Group by 99.5% in the 4th quarter. Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC now owns 786 shares of the company’s stock valued at $124,000 after buying an additional 392 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 95.30% of the company’s stock.

Nexstar Media Group Price Performance

Shares of Nexstar Media Group stock opened at $153.42 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $4.68 billion, a P/E ratio of 8.87, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.45 and a beta of 1.09. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $164.06 and its 200-day simple moving average is $164.89. Nexstar Media Group, Inc. has a twelve month low of $146.04 and a twelve month high of $191.86. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.98, a quick ratio of 1.68 and a current ratio of 1.68.

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

Nexstar Media Group Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, February 26th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, February 12th were issued a dividend of $1.86 per share. This is a positive change from Nexstar Media Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.69. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, February 12th. This represents a $7.44 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.85%. Nexstar Media Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 34.56%.

Insider Activity

In related news, insider Andrew Alford sold 3,768 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $181.98, for a total transaction of $685,700.64. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 5,405 shares in the company, valued at $983,601.90. This represents a 41.08 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CEO Perry A. Sook sold 32,096 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $170.67, for a total transaction of $5,477,824.32. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 806,019 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $137,563,262.73. The trade was a 3.83 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 39,105 shares of company stock worth $6,722,463. Insiders own 6.30% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have issued reports on NXST shares. StockNews.com cut shares of Nexstar Media Group from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, March 3rd. Rosenblatt Securities reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $200.00 price objective on shares of Nexstar Media Group in a report on Monday, March 10th. Barrington Research restated an “outperform” rating and set a $200.00 target price on shares of Nexstar Media Group in a report on Wednesday, March 5th. Guggenheim upped their price target on Nexstar Media Group from $210.00 to $220.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, February 28th. Finally, Benchmark raised their price objective on Nexstar Media Group from $200.00 to $225.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, February 28th. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Nexstar Media Group has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $208.43.

Nexstar Media Group 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.