Nexstar Media Group (NASDAQ:NXST) Price Target Raised to $225.00 at Benchmark

Nexstar Media Group (NASDAQ:NXST) had its price objective hoisted by Benchmark from $200.00 to $225.00 in a research report report published on Friday morning,Benzinga reports. They currently have a buy rating on the stock.

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

Nexstar Media Group Stock Performance

Shares of NXST opened at $169.15 on Friday. 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 company’s 50 day moving average price is $155.08 and its 200 day moving average price is $163.29. The company 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.

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). Nexstar Media Group had a net margin of 11.39% and a return on equity of 26.03%. The company had revenue of $1.49 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.48 billion. Research analysts expect 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. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, February 12th were given a $1.86 dividend. This is an increase from Nexstar Media Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.69. This represents a $7.44 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.40%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, February 12th. Nexstar Media Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 43.03%.

Insider Activity

In other Nexstar Media Group news, Director Lisbeth Mcnabb sold 875 shares of Nexstar Media Group stock in a transaction dated Monday, December 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $172.00, for a total transaction of $150,500.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 5,752 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $989,344. The trade was a 13.20 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CFO Lee Ann Gliha sold 330 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated 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 approximately $1,362,360.30. This trade represents a 3.69 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders sold 127,493 shares of company stock worth $20,354,366. 6.30% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Nexstar Media Group

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

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.