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

Nexstar Media Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:NXST) has been given a consensus recommendation of “Moderate Buy” by the seven ratings firms that are currently covering the company, Marketbeat.com reports. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company. The average twelve-month price target among brokers that have covered the stock in the last year is $204.29.

A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Guggenheim cut their price objective on shares of Nexstar Media Group from $200.00 to $198.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, October 4th. Loop Capital lowered Nexstar Media Group from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and cut their price objective for the company from $200.00 to $190.00 in a report on Friday, November 8th. Benchmark reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $215.00 target price on shares of Nexstar Media Group in a report on Friday, November 8th. Barrington Research reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $200.00 price target on shares of Nexstar Media Group in a report on Thursday, November 7th. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded shares of Nexstar Media Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, November 8th.

Nexstar Media Group Stock Performance

NXST opened at $159.93 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $4.96 billion, a P/E ratio of 9.25, a P/E/G ratio of 0.20 and a beta of 1.45. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $168.68 and its 200-day moving average is $167.33. The company has a quick ratio of 1.68, a current ratio of 1.68 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.98. Nexstar Media Group has a 52-week low of $147.25 and a 52-week high of $191.86.

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

Nexstar Media Group Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 29th. Investors of record on Friday, November 15th were paid a $1.69 dividend. This represents a $6.76 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.23%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, November 15th. Nexstar Media Group’s payout ratio is presently 39.10%.

Insider Activity at Nexstar Media Group

In other Nexstar Media Group news, insider Brett Jenkins sold 4,331 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, November 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $170.64, for a total transaction of $739,041.84. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 25,540 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,358,145.60. The trade was a 14.50 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Lee Ann Gliha sold 330 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, December 23rd. The shares were 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. This represents a 3.69 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 108,673 shares of company stock valued at $17,778,945 over the last quarter. 6.30% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Nexstar Media Group

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in NXST. Brooklyn Investment Group bought a new position in shares of Nexstar Media Group during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $25,000. Whittier Trust Co. acquired a new stake in shares of Nexstar Media Group in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $27,000. True Wealth Design LLC bought a new position in shares of Nexstar Media Group in the third quarter valued at $30,000. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB acquired a new position in Nexstar Media Group during the third quarter worth $33,000. Finally, Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC raised its position in Nexstar Media Group by 3,700.0% during the second quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 266 shares of the company’s stock worth $44,000 after acquiring an additional 259 shares in 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.