Nexstar Media Group (NASDAQ:NXST) Posts Earnings Results, Misses Expectations By $1.66 EPS

Nexstar Media Group (NASDAQ:NXST) posted its earnings results on Thursday. The company reported $7.56 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $9.22 by ($1.66), Zacks reports. Nexstar Media Group had a net margin of 11.39% and a return on equity of 26.03%. The business had revenue of $1.49 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.48 billion.

Nexstar Media Group Trading Up 4.0 %

Nexstar Media Group stock traded up $6.57 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $169.15. The stock had a trading volume of 1,153,380 shares, compared to its average volume of 339,215. Nexstar Media Group has a one year low of $146.04 and a one year 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 stock has a market cap of $5.25 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.78, a P/E/G ratio of 0.45 and a beta of 1.45. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $155.08 and its 200-day simple moving average is $163.29.

Nexstar Media Group Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, February 26th. Investors of record on Wednesday, February 12th were paid a $1.86 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, February 12th. This is a positive change from Nexstar Media Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.69. This represents a $7.44 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.40%. Nexstar Media Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 43.03%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

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

Insider Transactions at Nexstar Media Group

In other Nexstar Media Group news, Director Lisbeth Mcnabb sold 875 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, December 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $172.00, for a total value of $150,500.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 5,752 shares in the company, valued at $989,344. The trade was a 13.20 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CEO Perry A. Sook sold 35,205 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, December 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $162.13, for a total value of $5,707,786.65. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 674,694 shares in the company, valued at approximately $109,388,138.22. The trade was a 4.96 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 127,493 shares of company stock worth $20,354,366 over the last ninety days. 6.30% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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.