Brandywine Global Investment Management LLC Increases Stock Holdings in Nexstar Media Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:NXST)

Brandywine Global Investment Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Nexstar Media Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:NXST) by 61.8% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 95,291 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 36,381 shares during the period. Brandywine Global Investment Management LLC owned approximately 0.31% of Nexstar Media Group worth $15,053,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Brooklyn Investment Group acquired a new position in shares of Nexstar Media Group during the third quarter valued at about $25,000. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. acquired a new position in Nexstar Media Group during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $25,000. True Wealth Design LLC purchased a new position in shares of Nexstar Media Group in the third quarter worth $30,000. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB acquired a new stake in shares of Nexstar Media Group during the third quarter worth $33,000. Finally, Jones Financial Companies Lllp grew its holdings in shares of 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 buying an additional 73 shares during the last quarter. 95.30% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at Nexstar Media Group

In other news, Director Charles Thomas Mcmillen sold 2,000 shares of Nexstar Media Group stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $169.51, for a total value of $339,020.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 4,975 shares in the company, valued at $843,312.25. This trade represents a 28.67 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, insider Gary Weitman sold 1,241 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $177.21, for a total transaction of $219,917.61. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 3,975 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $704,409.75. This trade represents a 23.79 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 39,105 shares of company stock valued at $6,722,463. Company insiders own 6.30% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts recently issued reports on the company. StockNews.com lowered Nexstar Media Group from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, March 3rd. Rosenblatt Securities reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $200.00 target price on shares of Nexstar Media Group in a report on Monday, March 10th. Loop Capital upgraded Nexstar Media Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their target price for the company from $190.00 to $200.00 in a research report 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 report on Friday, February 28th. Finally, Barrington Research reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $200.00 price objective on shares of Nexstar Media Group in a report on Wednesday, March 5th. 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 presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $208.43.

Nexstar Media Group Price Performance

NASDAQ:NXST opened at $176.45 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.98, a current ratio of 1.68 and a quick ratio of 1.68. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $162.36 and a 200-day moving average price of $164.63. Nexstar Media Group, Inc. has a 1-year low of $146.04 and a 1-year high of $191.86. The firm has a market cap of $5.38 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.21, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.45 and a beta of 1.47.

Nexstar Media Group (NASDAQ:NXST) last released its quarterly earnings data 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). Nexstar Media Group had a net margin of 11.39% and a return on equity of 26.03%. The firm had revenue of $1.49 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.48 billion. Equities research analysts forecast that Nexstar Media Group, Inc. will post 21.62 EPS for the current year.

Nexstar Media Group Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, February 26th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, February 12th were given a dividend of $1.86 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, February 12th. This represents a $7.44 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.22%. This is an increase from Nexstar Media Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.69. Nexstar Media Group’s dividend payout ratio is currently 34.56%.

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.