Principal Financial Group Inc. Purchases 7,661 Shares of Nexstar Media Group, Inc. $NXST

Principal Financial Group Inc. increased its position in Nexstar Media Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:NXST) by 1.6% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 488,744 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 7,661 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc.’s holdings in Nexstar Media Group were worth $88,381,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the business. CWA Asset Management Group LLC increased its holdings in shares of Nexstar Media Group by 1.7% in the 4th quarter. CWA Asset Management Group LLC now owns 3,103 shares of the company’s stock worth $630,000 after purchasing an additional 51 shares in the last quarter. Merit Financial Group LLC increased its holdings in Nexstar Media Group by 1.6% in the 4th quarter. Merit Financial Group LLC now owns 3,571 shares of the company’s stock worth $725,000 after buying an additional 56 shares in the last quarter. Truist Financial Corp raised its position in Nexstar Media Group by 5.2% in the 4th quarter. Truist Financial Corp now owns 1,139 shares of the company’s stock worth $231,000 after buying an additional 56 shares during the last quarter. WPG Advisers LLC lifted its stake in Nexstar Media Group by 65.7% during the 4th quarter. WPG Advisers LLC now owns 179 shares of the company’s stock valued at $36,000 after acquiring an additional 71 shares during the period. Finally, Geneos Wealth Management Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Nexstar Media Group by 15.7% during the 2nd quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. now owns 589 shares of the company’s stock valued at $102,000 after acquiring an additional 80 shares during the last quarter. 95.30% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have recently commented on NXST shares. Zacks Research lowered shares of Nexstar Media Group from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, July 10th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lowered their price objective on shares of Nexstar Media Group from $270.00 to $255.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, May 11th. Citigroup raised shares of Nexstar Media Group from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and cut their target price for the stock from $252.00 to $220.00 in a research report on Friday, April 10th. Benchmark decreased their target price on shares of Nexstar Media Group from $300.00 to $250.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, April 6th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company decreased their target price on shares of Nexstar Media Group from $290.00 to $253.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, May 8th. Six analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $259.67.

Nexstar Media Group Trading Up 4.4%

Nexstar Media Group stock opened at $183.20 on Thursday. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $180.55 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $203.18. The company has a market cap of $5.59 billion, a P/E ratio of 39.31, a P/E/G ratio of 0.44 and a beta of 0.91. Nexstar Media Group, Inc. has a 52-week low of $154.47 and a 52-week high of $254.30. The company has a quick ratio of 1.76, a current ratio of 1.76 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.53.

Nexstar Media Group Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 29th. Investors of record on Friday, May 15th were issued a $1.86 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, May 15th. This represents a $7.44 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.1%. Nexstar Media Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 159.66%.

Insider Activity at Nexstar Media Group

In other Nexstar Media Group news, EVP Blake Russell sold 261 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, June 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $170.81, for a total transaction of $44,581.41. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 28,296 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,833,239.76. This represents a 0.91% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. Also, insider Dana Zimmer sold 876 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, June 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $170.81, for a total transaction of $149,629.56. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 5,800 shares in the company, valued at $990,698. The trade was a 13.12% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. Insiders sold a total of 22,813 shares of company stock valued at $4,174,731 in the last three months. Corporate insiders own 7.00% of the company’s stock.

Nexstar Media Group Profile

Nexstar Media Group, Inc is a diversified American media company engaged primarily in the ownership, operation and strategic affiliation of local television stations, digital platforms and cable networks. The company provides a range of broadcast content, including local news, sports coverage, entertainment programming and syndicated shows, reaching audiences in more than 100 television markets across the United States.

Founded in 1996 by entrepreneur Perry Sook and headquartered in Irving, Texas, Nexstar has built its presence through organic growth and a series of high-profile acquisitions.