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

Nexstar Media Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:NXST) has been assigned an average rating of “Buy” from the seven research firms that are currently covering the firm, Marketbeat.com reports. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold recommendation, five have assigned a buy recommendation and one has given a strong buy recommendation to the company. The average 1-year price objective among analysts that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $203.67.

A number of research firms have weighed in on NXST. Benchmark reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $225.00 price objective on shares of Nexstar Media Group in a research report on Thursday, June 20th. Loop Capital raised Nexstar Media Group to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Friday, May 10th. Rosenblatt Securities decreased their price target on Nexstar Media Group from $216.00 to $213.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, March 13th. Barrington Research restated an “outperform” rating and set a $200.00 price objective on shares of Nexstar Media Group in a report on Thursday, May 9th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company upgraded Nexstar Media Group from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and increased their target price for the stock from $190.00 to $221.00 in a research note on Monday, May 13th.

Nexstar Media Group Stock Performance

Nexstar Media Group stock opened at $167.47 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.80, a current ratio of 1.80 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.85. Nexstar Media Group has a twelve month low of $132.30 and a twelve month high of $187.32. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $161.98 and its 200-day moving average price is $164.69. The company has a market cap of $5.52 billion, a PE ratio of 14.17, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.60 and a beta of 1.50.

Nexstar Media Group (NASDAQ:NXST) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 9th. The company reported $5.16 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $4.28 by $0.88. The company had revenue of $1.28 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.29 billion. Nexstar Media Group had a return on equity of 17.18% and a net margin of 8.29%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $2.97 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Nexstar Media Group will post 27.62 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Nexstar Media Group Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 24th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 10th were issued a $1.69 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, May 9th. This represents a $6.76 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.04%. Nexstar Media Group’s dividend payout ratio is presently 57.19%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Nexstar Media Group

In other news, CFO Lee Ann Gliha sold 326 shares of Nexstar Media Group stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, June 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $160.00, for a total value of $52,160.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 5,462 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $873,920. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. In other news, insider Gary Weitman sold 432 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, May 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $167.43, for a total transaction of $72,329.76. Following the sale, the insider now owns 10,902 shares in the company, valued at $1,825,321.86. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Lee Ann Gliha sold 326 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, June 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $160.00, for a total transaction of $52,160.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 5,462 shares in the company, valued at approximately $873,920. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 6,826 shares of company stock valued at $1,080,597. 5.90% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Capital Research Global Investors acquired a new position in shares of Nexstar Media Group in the 1st quarter valued at $92,323,000. Point72 Asset Management L.P. lifted its holdings in shares of Nexstar Media Group by 392.6% during the fourth quarter. Point72 Asset Management L.P. now owns 450,351 shares of the company’s stock worth $70,593,000 after purchasing an additional 358,920 shares during the period. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in Nexstar Media Group in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $51,812,000. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its stake in Nexstar Media Group by 3.9% during the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 3,370,415 shares of the company’s stock valued at $580,689,000 after acquiring an additional 127,783 shares during the period. Finally, International Assets Investment Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Nexstar Media Group by 15,107.2% in the 4th quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 122,570 shares of the company’s stock valued at $19,213,000 after acquiring an additional 121,764 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.