Verdence Capital Advisors LLC Raises Stock Position in Nexstar Media Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:NXST)

Verdence Capital Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of Nexstar Media Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:NXST) by 36.6% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 11,088 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 2,972 shares during the period. Verdence Capital Advisors LLC’s holdings in Nexstar Media Group were worth $1,752,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. BNP Paribas Financial Markets increased its stake in Nexstar Media Group by 67.8% during the third quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 26,239 shares of the company’s stock worth $4,339,000 after purchasing an additional 10,603 shares during the period. SGL Investment Advisors Inc. purchased a new stake in Nexstar Media Group during the third quarter worth about $3,758,000. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its stake in Nexstar Media Group by 0.7% during the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,083,451 shares of the company’s stock worth $179,149,000 after purchasing an additional 7,117 shares during the period. Quest Partners LLC increased its stake in Nexstar Media Group by 661.4% during the third quarter. Quest Partners LLC now owns 8,672 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,434,000 after purchasing an additional 7,533 shares during the period. Finally, Holocene Advisors LP increased its stake in Nexstar Media Group by 680.9% during the third quarter. Holocene Advisors LP now owns 17,219 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,847,000 after purchasing an additional 15,014 shares during the period. 95.30% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

NXST has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Barrington Research restated an “outperform” rating and set a $200.00 target price on shares of Nexstar Media Group in a research note on Wednesday. StockNews.com lowered shares of Nexstar Media Group from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday. Guggenheim upped their target price 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. Loop Capital upgraded shares of Nexstar Media Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their target price for the stock from $190.00 to $200.00 in a research note on Friday, February 28th. Finally, Benchmark upped their target price 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. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Nexstar Media Group presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $210.29.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO Perry A. Sook sold 52,808 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, December 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $157.41, for a total value of $8,312,507.28. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 674,694 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $106,203,582.54. This represents a 7.26 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Lee Ann Gliha sold 330 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, December 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $158.23, for a total value of $52,215.90. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 8,610 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,362,360.30. The trade was a 3.69 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 161,589 shares of company stock valued at $26,171,210. 6.30% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Nexstar Media Group Stock Performance

Shares of Nexstar Media Group stock opened at $169.63 on Thursday. The firm has a market capitalization of $5.26 billion, a P/E ratio of 9.81, a P/E/G ratio of 0.45 and a beta of 1.45. Nexstar Media Group, Inc. has a 52 week low of $146.04 and a 52 week high of $191.86. The company has a quick ratio of 1.68, a current ratio of 1.68 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.98. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $155.78 and its two-hundred day moving average is $163.59.

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

Nexstar Media Group Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, February 26th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, February 12th were issued a $1.86 dividend. This is an increase from Nexstar Media Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.69. This represents a $7.44 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.39%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, February 12th. Nexstar Media Group’s dividend payout ratio is presently 34.56%.

Nexstar Media Group 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.