KBC Group NV Raises Position in Nexstar Media Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:NXST)

KBC Group NV lifted its position in Nexstar Media Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:NXST) by 1,801.8% in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 17,230 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 16,324 shares during the quarter. KBC Group NV’s holdings in Nexstar Media Group were worth $2,722,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Marshall Wace LLP purchased a new position in Nexstar Media Group during the second quarter valued at $249,000. Millennium Management LLC increased its position in shares of Nexstar Media Group by 1,857.8% during the 2nd quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 23,827 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,956,000 after purchasing an additional 22,610 shares during the last quarter. Susquehanna Fundamental Investments LLC purchased a new stake in Nexstar Media Group during the second quarter valued at approximately $598,000. Algert Global LLC bought a new position in Nexstar Media Group in the 2nd quarter worth $559,000. Finally, Creative Planning raised its stake in shares of Nexstar Media Group by 25.6% in the second quarter. Creative Planning now owns 4,817 shares of the company’s stock worth $800,000 after buying an additional 982 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 95.30% of the company’s stock.

Nexstar Media Group Stock Performance

NASDAQ NXST opened at $153.22 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $4.75 billion, a PE ratio of 8.86, a P/E/G ratio of 0.26 and a beta of 1.45. Nexstar Media Group, Inc. has a 1-year low of $147.25 and a 1-year high of $191.86. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $160.80 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $166.42. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.98, a current ratio of 1.68 and a quick ratio of 1.68.

Nexstar Media Group (NASDAQ:NXST) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, November 7th. The company reported $5.27 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $5.51 by ($0.24). Nexstar Media Group had a return on equity of 26.03% and a net margin of 11.39%. The business had revenue of $1.37 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.37 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $0.70 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 20.7% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts predict that Nexstar Media Group, Inc. will post 24.53 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Nexstar Media Group Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, February 26th. Investors of record on Wednesday, February 12th will be given a $1.86 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, February 12th. This represents a $7.44 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.86%. This is a positive change from Nexstar Media Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.69. Nexstar Media Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 39.10%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Nexstar Media Group

In other news, CFO Lee Ann Gliha sold 330 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, December 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $158.23, for a total transaction of $52,215.90. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 8,610 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,362,360.30. The trade was a 3.69 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CEO Perry A. Sook sold 37,025 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, December 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $160.14, for a total value of $5,929,183.50. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 674,694 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $108,045,497.16. This represents a 5.20 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 146,448 shares of company stock worth $23,828,076 over the last ninety days. Company insiders own 6.30% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

NXST has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Benchmark restated a “buy” rating and set a $215.00 target price on shares of Nexstar Media Group in a research note on Friday, November 8th. Guggenheim reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Nexstar Media Group in a research note on Wednesday, January 22nd. Loop Capital downgraded Nexstar Media Group from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and lowered their price objective for the company from $200.00 to $190.00 in a research report on Friday, November 8th. Barrington Research reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $200.00 target price on shares of Nexstar Media Group in a research report on Thursday, November 7th. Finally, StockNews.com raised Nexstar Media Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, November 8th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $204.29.

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.