Nexstar Media Group (NASDAQ:NXST) Cut to Hold at StockNews.com

StockNews.com lowered shares of Nexstar Media Group (NASDAQ:NXST) from a buy rating to a hold rating in a research note issued to investors on Monday.

A number of other equities analysts have also commented on the company. Guggenheim boosted their price objective on 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 price target for the stock from $190.00 to $200.00 in a research report on Friday, February 28th. Benchmark raised their price objective on shares of Nexstar Media Group from $200.00 to $225.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, February 28th. Finally, Barrington Research reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $200.00 target price on shares of Nexstar Media Group in a research report on Thursday, February 27th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $210.29.

Nexstar Media Group Trading Down 0.1 %

Shares of Nexstar Media Group stock opened at $169.63 on Monday. The stock has a market capitalization of $5.26 billion, a P/E ratio of 9.81, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.45 and a beta of 1.45. Nexstar Media Group has a 12-month low of $146.04 and a 12-month 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 company has a 50-day simple moving average of $155.78 and a 200 day simple moving average of $163.59.

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

Nexstar Media Group Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, February 26th. Investors of record on Wednesday, February 12th were paid a dividend of $1.86 per share. This represents a $7.44 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.39%. This is an increase 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 payout ratio is 34.56%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Nexstar Media Group

In other Nexstar Media Group news, CEO Perry A. Sook sold 35,205 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, December 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $162.13, for a total transaction of $5,707,786.65. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 674,694 shares in the company, valued at approximately $109,388,138.22. This trade represents a 4.96 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director Charles Thomas Mcmillen sold 2,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $169.51, for a total value of $339,020.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 4,975 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $843,312.25. The trade was a 28.67 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 161,589 shares of company stock valued at $26,171,210. 6.30% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Nexstar Media Group

Several hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH bought a new stake in shares of Nexstar Media Group in the 4th quarter valued at $6,496,000. Jefferies Financial Group Inc. acquired a new position in Nexstar Media Group in the fourth quarter valued at about $2,086,000. Integrated Advisors Network LLC increased its holdings in shares of Nexstar Media Group by 9.6% in the fourth quarter. Integrated Advisors Network LLC now owns 1,461 shares of the company’s stock worth $231,000 after acquiring an additional 128 shares in the last quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC increased its holdings in shares of Nexstar Media Group by 12.3% in the fourth quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 116,172 shares of the company’s stock worth $18,352,000 after acquiring an additional 12,695 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Voloridge Investment Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Nexstar Media Group during the fourth quarter worth about $7,075,000. 95.30% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.