Nexstar Media Group (NASDAQ:NXST) Receives Outperform Rating from Barrington Research

Barrington Research reaffirmed their outperform rating on shares of Nexstar Media Group (NASDAQ:NXST) in a report released on Thursday,Benzinga reports. The firm currently has a $200.00 price target on the stock.

Several other research firms also recently commented on NXST. Benchmark reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $215.00 price objective on shares of Nexstar Media Group in a report on Friday, November 8th. Loop Capital cut Nexstar Media Group from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and decreased their price target for the stock from $200.00 to $190.00 in a research note on Friday, November 8th. Guggenheim reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Nexstar Media Group in a research report on Wednesday, January 22nd. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded shares of Nexstar Media Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, November 8th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $204.29.

Nexstar Media Group Stock Up 11.1 %

Shares of NASDAQ:NXST opened at $162.58 on Thursday. The firm has a market capitalization of $5.04 billion, a PE ratio of 9.40, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.45 and a beta of 1.45. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.98, a quick ratio of 1.68 and a current ratio of 1.68. Nexstar Media Group has a 52-week low of $146.04 and a 52-week high of $191.86. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $155.08 and a 200 day moving average of $163.29.

Nexstar Media Group (NASDAQ:NXST) last released its 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 firm had revenue of $1.49 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.48 billion. Nexstar Media Group had a return on equity of 26.03% and a net margin of 11.39%. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Nexstar Media Group will post 21.62 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Nexstar Media Group Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, February 26th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, February 12th were paid a $1.86 dividend. This represents a $7.44 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.58%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, February 12th. This is an increase from Nexstar Media Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.69. Nexstar Media Group’s dividend payout ratio is currently 43.03%.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Charles Thomas Mcmillen sold 750 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, December 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $159.93, for a total transaction of $119,947.50. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 6,975 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,115,511.75. This represents a 9.71 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CEO Perry A. Sook sold 35,205 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, December 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $162.13, for a total value of $5,707,786.65. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 674,694 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $109,388,138.22. This trade represents a 4.96 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 127,493 shares of company stock worth $20,354,366 over the last 90 days. 6.30% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of Nexstar Media Group

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