Benchmark Forecasts Strong Price Appreciation for Nexstar Media Group (NASDAQ:NXST) Stock

Nexstar Media Group (NASDAQ:NXST) had its price objective raised by investment analysts at Benchmark from $200.00 to $225.00 in a report issued on Friday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has a “buy” rating on the stock. Benchmark’s price target suggests a potential upside of 33.02% from the stock’s previous close.

Other equities analysts have also recently issued research reports about the company. Barrington Research reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $200.00 price target on shares of Nexstar Media Group in a report on Thursday. Guggenheim raised their target price on shares of Nexstar Media Group from $210.00 to $220.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday. StockNews.com raised shares of Nexstar Media Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, November 8th. Finally, Loop Capital raised shares of Nexstar Media Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their price objective for the company from $190.00 to $200.00 in a research note on Friday. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $210.29.

Nexstar Media Group Trading Up 4.0 %

NXST opened at $169.15 on Friday. Nexstar Media Group has a 1-year low of $146.04 and a 1-year high of $191.86. The stock has a market capitalization of $5.25 billion, a PE ratio of 9.78, a PEG ratio of 0.45 and a beta of 1.45. The company has a current ratio of 1.68, a quick ratio of 1.68 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.98. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $155.29 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $163.44.

Nexstar Media Group (NASDAQ:NXST) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 27th. The company reported $7.56 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $9.22 by ($1.66). The company had revenue of $1.49 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.48 billion. Nexstar Media Group had a net margin of 11.39% and a return on equity of 26.03%. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Nexstar Media Group will post 21.62 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Nexstar Media Group news, Director Charles Thomas Mcmillen sold 750 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, December 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $159.93, for a total value of $119,947.50. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 6,975 shares in the company, valued at $1,115,511.75. This represents a 9.71 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CEO Perry A. Sook sold 35,205 shares of Nexstar Media Group stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, December 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $162.13, for a total value of $5,707,786.65. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 674,694 shares in the company, valued at $109,388,138.22. This trade represents a 4.96 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 127,493 shares of company stock worth $20,354,366. Company insiders own 6.30% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Nexstar Media Group

Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Brooklyn Investment Group bought a new stake in Nexstar Media Group in the 3rd quarter valued at $25,000. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. bought a new stake in shares of Nexstar Media Group in the fourth quarter valued at about $25,000. True Wealth Design LLC bought a new stake in shares of Nexstar Media Group in the third quarter valued at about $30,000. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB acquired a new position in shares of Nexstar Media Group during the third quarter worth about $33,000. Finally, Capital Performance Advisors LLP bought a new position in shares of Nexstar Media Group during the third quarter worth about $44,000. Institutional investors own 95.30% of the company’s stock.

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.