Faithward Advisors LLC Increases Stock Position in Nexstar Media Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:NXST)

Faithward Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of Nexstar Media Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:NXST) by 3.6% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 20,939 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 730 shares during the period. Faithward Advisors LLC owned approximately 0.07% of Nexstar Media Group worth $3,308,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. acquired a new stake in Nexstar Media Group during the fourth quarter worth about $25,000. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB acquired a new stake in Nexstar Media Group during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $33,000. Jones Financial Companies Lllp raised its holdings in Nexstar Media Group by 15.3% in 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 period. Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC lifted its position in Nexstar Media Group by 99.5% during the fourth quarter. Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC now owns 786 shares of the company’s stock valued at $124,000 after buying an additional 392 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Venturi Wealth Management LLC grew its stake in Nexstar Media Group by 31.0% during the fourth quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC now owns 883 shares of the company’s stock worth $139,000 after buying an additional 209 shares during the period. 95.30% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Nexstar Media Group

In other Nexstar Media Group news, insider Gary Weitman sold 1,241 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $177.21, for a total value of $219,917.61. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 3,975 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $704,409.75. This trade represents a 23.79 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, CEO Perry A. Sook sold 32,096 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $170.67, for a total value of $5,477,824.32. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 806,019 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $137,563,262.73. This trade represents a 3.83 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 39,105 shares of company stock valued at $6,722,463 over the last three months. 6.30% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts recently weighed in on NXST shares. Benchmark lifted their target price on shares of Nexstar Media Group from $200.00 to $225.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, February 28th. StockNews.com cut Nexstar Media Group from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, March 3rd. Rosenblatt Securities reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $200.00 target price on shares of Nexstar Media Group in a report on Monday, March 10th. Barrington Research restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $200.00 price target on shares of Nexstar Media Group in a report on Wednesday, March 5th. Finally, Loop Capital raised shares of Nexstar Media Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their price objective for the company from $190.00 to $200.00 in a research report 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.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $208.43.

Nexstar Media Group Price Performance

NXST stock opened at $150.67 on Tuesday. The company has a market capitalization of $4.60 billion, a PE ratio of 8.71, a P/E/G ratio of 0.45 and a beta of 1.09. 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 stock’s 50 day moving average is $163.93 and its two-hundred day moving average is $164.72. Nexstar Media Group, Inc. has a 52-week low of $146.04 and a 52-week high of $191.86.

Nexstar Media Group (NASDAQ:NXST) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 27th. The company reported $7.56 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $9.22 by ($1.66). The company 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%. Analysts predict that Nexstar Media Group, Inc. will post 21.62 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Nexstar Media Group Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, February 26th. Investors of record on Wednesday, February 12th were paid a $1.86 dividend. This represents a $7.44 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.94%. This is an increase from Nexstar Media Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.69. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, February 12th. Nexstar Media Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 34.56%.

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.