Nexstar Media Group (NASDAQ:NXST) Upgraded at Wall Street Zen

Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Nexstar Media Group (NASDAQ:NXST) from a hold rating to a buy rating in a research note issued to investors on Saturday morning,Wall Street Zen reports.

NXST has been the topic of a number of other reports. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on Nexstar Media Group from $249.00 to $250.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Nexstar Media Group in a research note on Monday, August 24th. Zacks Research downgraded shares of Nexstar Media Group from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research report on Monday, August 10th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft dropped their price target on shares of Nexstar Media Group from $255.00 to $240.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, August 10th. Six analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, one has assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $257.50.

Nexstar Media Group Trading Up 5.9%

NASDAQ:NXST opened at $201.23 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.09, a quick ratio of 1.56 and a current ratio of 1.56. Nexstar Media Group has a one year low of $153.17 and a one year high of $254.30. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $168.16 and its 200 day simple moving average is $191.70. The stock has a market cap of $6.20 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.31 and a beta of 0.97.

Nexstar Media Group (NASDAQ:NXST) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, November 5th. The company reported $7.92 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $8.08 by ($0.16). Nexstar Media Group had a net margin of 3.20% and a return on equity of 24.02%. The business had revenue of $2.13 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.07 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $2.14 EPS. Nexstar Media Group’s revenue for the quarter was up 78.0% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Nexstar Media Group will post 32.88 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Nexstar Media Group Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 27th. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 13th will be given a dividend of $1.86 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 13th. This represents a $7.44 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.7%. Nexstar Media Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 67.70%.

Insider Activity at Nexstar Media Group

In related news, insider Dana Zimmer sold 4,008 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $187.46, for a total value of $751,339.68. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 1,792 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $335,928.32. The trade was a 69.10% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, insider Andrew Alford sold 2,823 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, September 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $165.69, for a total value of $467,742.87. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 11,726 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,942,880.94. This represents a 19.40% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Over the last three months, insiders sold 9,596 shares of company stock worth $1,733,169. 7.00% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of large investors have recently bought and sold shares of NXST. Epoch Investment Partners Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Nexstar Media Group by 685.8% in the 1st quarter. Epoch Investment Partners Inc. now owns 92,817 shares of the company’s stock valued at $16,784,000 after acquiring an additional 81,005 shares during the last quarter. Foster & Motley Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Nexstar Media Group during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $8,529,000. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. acquired a new stake in shares of Nexstar Media Group during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $4,459,000. Bank of America Corp DE lifted its stake in Nexstar Media Group by 17.0% during the first quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 173,269 shares of the company’s stock worth $31,332,000 after purchasing an additional 25,193 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Penn Capital Management Company LLC lifted its stake in Nexstar Media Group by 15.0% during the third quarter. Penn Capital Management Company LLC now owns 101,941 shares of the company’s stock worth $16,506,000 after purchasing an additional 13,264 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 95.30% of the company’s stock.

Nexstar Media Group Company Profile

Nexstar Media Group is a U.S. media company focused on local television broadcasting and national programming. It owns and operates local television stations across the country, many affiliated with major broadcast networks, and produces local news, sports, and other programming for viewers in their communities.

The company also operates NewsNation, a national news and entertainment network, and holds a majority interest in The CW. Its digital businesses distribute news and other content online, while advertising and fees for carrying its stations and networks are among its business activities.

Founded by Perry Sook in 1996 and headquartered in Irving, Texas, Nexstar expanded its station portfolio through acquisitions, including its 2019 acquisition of Tribune Media.