Nexstar Media Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:NXST) Stock Rated “Moderate Buy” by Sell-Side Brokerages

Shares of Nexstar Media Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:NXST) have earned an average recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the eight research firms that are presently covering the firm, MarketBeat reports. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation, one has given a hold recommendation and six have given a buy recommendation to the company. The average twelve-month target price among brokers that have covered the stock in the last year is $256.50.

A number of brokerages have weighed in on NXST. Zacks Research lowered Nexstar Media Group from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research note on Monday, August 10th. Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Nexstar Media Group in a report on Monday, August 24th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft cut their target price on Nexstar Media Group from $255.00 to $240.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, August 10th. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their target price on Nexstar Media Group from $253.00 to $249.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, August 7th. Finally, Wall Street Zen cut Nexstar Media Group from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Sunday, July 12th.

Insider Activity at Nexstar Media Group

In other Nexstar Media Group news, Director Bernadette Aulestia sold 300 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, August 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $186.80, for a total transaction of $56,040.00. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 4,383 shares in the company, valued at $818,744.40. This represents a 6.41% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, COO Michael Biard sold 2,465 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, August 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $185.82, for a total transaction of $458,046.30. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer owned 20,890 shares in the company, valued at $3,881,779.80. This trade represents a 10.55% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. Over the last three months, insiders sold 9,596 shares of company stock valued at $1,733,169. Insiders own 7.00% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Nexstar Media Group

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Janus Henderson Group PLC raised its position in Nexstar Media Group by 1.8% in the first quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 643,864 shares of the company’s stock worth $116,427,000 after acquiring an additional 11,477 shares in the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. boosted its position in shares of Nexstar Media Group by 1.6% during the 1st quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 488,744 shares of the company’s stock valued at $88,381,000 after purchasing an additional 7,661 shares in the last quarter. Allianz Asset Management GmbH boosted its position in shares of Nexstar Media Group by 28.4% during the 4th quarter. Allianz Asset Management GmbH now owns 358,762 shares of the company’s stock valued at $72,847,000 after purchasing an additional 79,426 shares in the last quarter. Van Lanschot Kempen Investment Management N.V. grew its stake in shares of Nexstar Media Group by 4.6% in the 4th quarter. Van Lanschot Kempen Investment Management N.V. now owns 173,068 shares of the company’s stock worth $35,141,000 after purchasing an additional 7,624 shares during the last quarter. Finally, QVT Financial LP grew its stake in shares of Nexstar Media Group by 200.0% in the 4th quarter. QVT Financial LP now owns 155,281 shares of the company’s stock worth $31,530,000 after purchasing an additional 310,562 shares during the last quarter. 95.30% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Nexstar Media Group Stock Performance

NASDAQ:NXST opened at $160.31 on Thursday. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $172.72 and a two-hundred day moving average of $181.31. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.09, a current ratio of 1.56 and a quick ratio of 1.56. The stock has a market cap of $4.94 billion, a P/E ratio of 30.77 and a beta of 0.94. Nexstar Media Group has a 1-year low of $153.17 and a 1-year high of $254.30.

Nexstar Media Group (NASDAQ:NXST) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, August 6th. The company reported $3.61 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $5.98 by ($2.37). Nexstar Media Group had a return on equity of 24.02% and a net margin of 3.20%. The business had revenue of $1.99 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.97 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $3.06 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 62.2% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts expect that Nexstar Media Group will post 32.88 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Nexstar Media Group Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 28th. Investors of record on Friday, August 14th were paid a $1.86 dividend. This represents a $7.44 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.6%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, August 14th. Nexstar Media Group’s payout ratio is 142.80%.

Nexstar Media Group Company Profile

Nexstar Media Group, Inc is a diversified media company that owns and operates local television stations across the United States. Its stations provide local news, weather, sports, and entertainment programming, while also distributing content through digital platforms and connected television services.

The company also operates national media businesses, including NewsNation, a national cable news network, and The CW Network, which offers scripted programming, sports, and other entertainment content.