Thrivent Financial for Lutherans Trims Position in Nexstar Media Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:NXST)

Thrivent Financial for Lutherans reduced its holdings in Nexstar Media Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:NXST) by 5.5% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 7,123 shares of the company’s stock after selling 413 shares during the period. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans’ holdings in Nexstar Media Group were worth $1,178,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Evergreen Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in Nexstar Media Group during the third quarter valued at $2,635,000. Natixis Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of Nexstar Media Group by 1.2% during the 3rd quarter. Natixis Advisors LLC now owns 10,185 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,684,000 after buying an additional 117 shares during the last quarter. Zions Bancorporation N.A. lifted its holdings in shares of Nexstar Media Group by 18.5% in the 3rd quarter. Zions Bancorporation N.A. now owns 12,226 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,022,000 after buying an additional 1,905 shares during the period. MQS Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Nexstar Media Group in the third quarter worth about $359,000. Finally, Victory Capital Management Inc. grew its holdings in Nexstar Media Group by 41.9% during the third quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 20,571 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,401,000 after acquiring an additional 6,071 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 95.30% of the company’s stock.

Nexstar Media Group Stock Performance

NASDAQ:NXST opened at $170.59 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.98, a quick ratio of 1.68 and a current ratio of 1.68. The stock has a market capitalization of $5.29 billion, a PE ratio of 9.87, a P/E/G ratio of 0.20 and a beta of 1.48. Nexstar Media Group, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $141.38 and a fifty-two week high of $191.86. The company has a fifty day moving average of $169.31 and a two-hundred day moving average of $167.04.

Nexstar Media Group (NASDAQ:NXST) last released 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). The company had revenue of $1.37 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.37 billion. Nexstar Media Group had a return on equity of 26.03% and a net margin of 11.39%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 20.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $0.70 EPS. As a group, research analysts forecast that Nexstar Media Group, Inc. will post 24.53 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Nexstar Media Group Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 29th. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 15th were issued a dividend of $1.69 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, November 15th. This represents a $6.76 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.96%. Nexstar Media Group’s payout ratio is currently 39.10%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

NXST has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price target on Nexstar Media Group from $221.00 to $209.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, August 9th. Benchmark reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $215.00 target price on shares of Nexstar Media Group in a research note on Friday, November 8th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft dropped their price target on shares of Nexstar Media Group from $207.00 to $205.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, August 9th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Nexstar Media Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, November 8th. Finally, Barrington Research reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $200.00 target price on shares of Nexstar Media Group in a research note on Thursday, November 7th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $198.50.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO Perry A. Sook sold 12,239 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, November 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $190.28, for a total value of $2,328,836.92. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 674,694 shares in the company, valued at $128,380,774.32. This represents a 1.78 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, Director Charles Thomas Mcmillen sold 250 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, September 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $164.44, for a total transaction of $41,110.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 7,725 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,270,299. This represents a 3.13 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 45,423 shares of company stock worth $7,916,739 over the last quarter. 6.30% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

About Nexstar Media Group

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.