Nexstar Media Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:NXST) Receives Consensus Rating of “Buy” from Brokerages

Shares of Nexstar Media Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:NXST) have been assigned a consensus recommendation of “Buy” from the seven analysts that are covering the firm, MarketBeat reports. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold recommendation, five have given a buy recommendation and one has given a strong buy recommendation to the company. The average 12 month target price among brokers that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $201.67.

A number of analysts have issued reports on NXST shares. 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. Barrington Research reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $200.00 price target on shares of Nexstar Media Group in a report on Thursday, August 8th. Loop Capital raised shares of Nexstar Media Group to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Friday, May 10th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lowered their target price on shares of Nexstar Media Group from $207.00 to $205.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Friday, August 9th. Finally, Benchmark reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $225.00 price target on shares of Nexstar Media Group in a research note on Friday, August 9th.

Insider Buying and Selling at Nexstar Media Group

In other news, insider Gary Weitman sold 528 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, June 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $160.00, for a total transaction of $84,480.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 11,687 shares in the company, valued at $1,869,920. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. In related news, insider Gary Weitman sold 528 shares of Nexstar Media Group stock in a transaction on Tuesday, June 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $160.00, for a total value of $84,480.00. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 11,687 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,869,920. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, EVP Rachel Morgan sold 6,196 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $171.30, for a total transaction of $1,061,374.80. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 19,130 shares of company stock worth $3,134,802. 5.90% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Nexstar Media Group

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in NXST. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Nexstar Media Group by 3.9% in the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 3,370,415 shares of the company’s stock valued at $580,689,000 after buying an additional 127,783 shares during the period. LSV Asset Management boosted its position in shares of Nexstar Media Group by 5.5% during the 4th quarter. LSV Asset Management now owns 1,384,505 shares of the company’s stock worth $217,021,000 after purchasing an additional 72,462 shares in the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its position in shares of Nexstar Media Group by 4.9% during the 2nd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,326,476 shares of the company’s stock worth $220,189,000 after purchasing an additional 62,331 shares in the last quarter. Capital Research Global Investors acquired a new position in shares of Nexstar Media Group during the 1st quarter worth $92,323,000. Finally, Point72 Asset Management L.P. increased its holdings in shares of Nexstar Media Group by 392.6% in the 4th quarter. Point72 Asset Management L.P. now owns 450,351 shares of the company’s stock valued at $70,593,000 after purchasing an additional 358,920 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 95.30% of the company’s stock.

Nexstar Media Group Stock Up 0.1 %

Shares of Nexstar Media Group stock opened at $169.33 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.80, a current ratio of 1.80 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.85. Nexstar Media Group has a 52-week low of $132.30 and a 52-week high of $187.27. The company has a market capitalization of $5.58 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.33, a P/E/G ratio of 0.65 and a beta of 1.50. The company has a 50 day moving average of $169.28 and a 200 day moving average of $165.91.

Nexstar Media Group (NASDAQ:NXST) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 8th. The company reported $3.54 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $4.48 by ($0.94). The firm had revenue of $1.27 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.28 billion. Nexstar Media Group had a return on equity of 17.18% and a net margin of 8.29%. Nexstar Media Group’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm posted $2.64 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts forecast that Nexstar Media Group will post 27.62 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Nexstar Media Group Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 23rd. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 9th were given a dividend of $1.69 per share. This represents a $6.76 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.99%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, August 9th. Nexstar Media Group’s payout ratio is currently 57.19%.

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.