Nexstar Media Group (NASDAQ:NXST) Earns “Buy” Rating from Benchmark

Nexstar Media Group (NASDAQ:NXST)‘s stock had its “buy” rating reaffirmed by stock analysts at Benchmark in a research report issued to clients and investors on Friday,Benzinga reports. They presently have a $215.00 price objective on the stock. Benchmark’s target price indicates a potential upside of 29.49% from the company’s previous close.

NXST has been the topic of a number of other reports. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price objective on shares of Nexstar Media Group from $221.00 to $209.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, August 9th. Loop Capital cut Nexstar Media Group from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and lowered their price objective for the stock from $200.00 to $190.00 in a research report on Friday. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft decreased their target price on Nexstar Media Group from $207.00 to $205.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, August 9th. StockNews.com lowered shares of Nexstar Media Group from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, October 4th. Finally, Guggenheim reduced their price objective on shares of Nexstar Media Group from $200.00 to $198.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, October 4th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Nexstar Media Group currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $198.50.

Nexstar Media Group Stock Down 11.9 %

NXST stock traded down $22.46 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $166.04. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 1,148,413 shares, compared to its average volume of 278,403. Nexstar Media Group has a 52-week low of $140.92 and a 52-week high of $191.86. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $168.54 and a 200-day simple moving average of $166.97. The company has a quick ratio of 1.78, a current ratio of 1.78 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.92. The firm has a market capitalization of $5.36 billion, a P/E ratio of 9.60, a PEG ratio of 0.21 and a beta of 1.48.

Nexstar Media Group (NASDAQ:NXST) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, November 7th. The company reported $5.27 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $5.51 by ($0.24). Nexstar Media Group had a net margin of 8.68% and a return on equity of 18.65%. The company had revenue of $1.37 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.37 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $0.70 EPS. Nexstar Media Group’s revenue for the quarter was up 20.7% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Nexstar Media Group will post 25.72 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity at Nexstar Media Group

In other Nexstar Media Group news, Director Charles Thomas Mcmillen sold 250 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, September 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $164.44, for a total transaction of $41,110.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 7,725 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,270,299. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. In related news, Director Charles Thomas Mcmillen sold 250 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, September 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $164.44, for a total value of $41,110.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 7,725 shares in the company, valued at $1,270,299. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, EVP Rachel Morgan sold 6,196 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated 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. Insiders sold a total of 41,112 shares of company stock worth $6,887,029 over the last 90 days. Company insiders own 6.30% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Nexstar Media Group

Institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. BNP PARIBAS ASSET MANAGEMENT Holding S.A. raised its stake in shares of Nexstar Media Group by 5.8% during the 3rd quarter. BNP PARIBAS ASSET MANAGEMENT Holding S.A. now owns 111,905 shares of the company’s stock worth $18,504,000 after buying an additional 6,101 shares during the last quarter. Payden & Rygel raised its position in Nexstar Media Group by 40.4% during the third quarter. Payden & Rygel now owns 110,200 shares of the company’s stock worth $18,222,000 after acquiring an additional 31,700 shares during the last quarter. Advisors Asset Management Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Nexstar Media Group by 46.8% in the third quarter. Advisors Asset Management Inc. now owns 21,908 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,622,000 after purchasing an additional 6,984 shares in the last quarter. Pathstone Holdings LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Nexstar Media Group by 6.7% in the third quarter. Pathstone Holdings LLC now owns 22,009 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,639,000 after purchasing an additional 1,388 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Quest Partners LLC grew its position in shares of Nexstar Media Group by 661.4% in the third quarter. Quest Partners LLC now owns 8,672 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,434,000 after purchasing an additional 7,533 shares during the last quarter. 95.30% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.