Nexstar Media Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:NXST) Insider Sells $219,917.61 in Stock

Nexstar Media Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:NXST) insider Gary Weitman sold 1,241 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, March 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $177.21, for a total transaction of $219,917.61. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 3,975 shares in the company, valued at approximately $704,409.75. This represents a 23.79 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website.

Nexstar Media Group Stock Up 3.0 %

Shares of Nexstar Media Group stock opened at $177.85 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.98, a current ratio of 1.68 and a quick ratio of 1.68. Nexstar Media Group, Inc. has a 1 year low of $146.04 and a 1 year high of $191.86. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $156.61 and its two-hundred day moving average is $163.75. The stock has a market cap of $5.52 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.29, a PEG ratio of 0.45 and a beta of 1.45.

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

Nexstar Media Group Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, February 26th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, February 12th were issued a dividend of $1.86 per share. This represents a $7.44 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.18%. This is a boost from Nexstar Media Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.69. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, February 12th. Nexstar Media Group’s dividend payout ratio is presently 34.56%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC grew its holdings in Nexstar Media Group by 1.1% during the 4th quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 6,487 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,073,000 after acquiring an additional 68 shares in the last quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp boosted its holdings in shares of Nexstar Media Group by 15.3% in the 4th quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 550 shares of the company’s stock valued at $87,000 after buying an additional 73 shares in the last quarter. Mariner LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Nexstar Media Group by 5.3% in the 4th quarter. Mariner LLC now owns 2,300 shares of the company’s stock valued at $363,000 after buying an additional 115 shares in the last quarter. Natixis Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Nexstar Media Group by 1.2% in the 3rd quarter. Natixis Advisors LLC now owns 10,185 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,684,000 after buying an additional 117 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Focus Partners Wealth boosted its holdings in shares of Nexstar Media Group by 7.3% in the 4th quarter. Focus Partners Wealth now owns 1,726 shares of the company’s stock valued at $273,000 after buying an additional 117 shares in the last quarter. 95.30% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have recently weighed in on NXST. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Nexstar Media Group from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, March 3rd. Loop Capital raised shares of Nexstar Media Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their target price for the company from $190.00 to $200.00 in a research note on Friday, February 28th. Benchmark raised their price target on shares of Nexstar Media Group from $200.00 to $225.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, February 28th. Guggenheim raised their price target on shares of Nexstar Media Group from $210.00 to $220.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, February 28th. Finally, Barrington Research reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $200.00 price target on shares of Nexstar Media Group in a research note on Wednesday. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $210.29.

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.