Nexstar Media Group (NASDAQ:NXST) Lowered to “Hold” Rating by StockNews.com

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

A number of other analysts also recently issued reports on NXST. Guggenheim lifted their price objective on shares of Nexstar Media Group from $210.00 to $220.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, February 28th. Loop Capital upgraded shares of Nexstar Media Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their price target for the company from $190.00 to $200.00 in a research note on Friday, February 28th. Benchmark increased their price objective on shares of Nexstar Media Group from $200.00 to $225.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, February 28th. Finally, Barrington Research restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $200.00 price objective on shares of Nexstar Media Group in a report on Thursday, February 27th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Nexstar Media Group has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $210.29.

Nexstar Media Group Price Performance

NXST stock opened at $169.63 on Monday. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $155.78 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $163.59. Nexstar Media Group has a 1 year low of $146.04 and a 1 year high of $191.86. The stock has a market cap of $5.26 billion, a PE ratio of 9.81, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.45 and a beta of 1.45. The company has a current ratio of 1.68, a quick ratio of 1.68 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.98.

Nexstar Media Group (NASDAQ:NXST) last posted its quarterly earnings data 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 firm had revenue of $1.49 billion for 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%. Equities analysts forecast that Nexstar Media Group will post 21.62 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Nexstar Media Group Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, February 26th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, February 12th were paid a dividend of $1.86 per share. 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 dividend yield of 4.39%. Nexstar Media Group’s payout ratio is currently 34.56%.

Insider Activity at Nexstar Media Group

In related news, Director Bernadette S. Aulestia sold 500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, December 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $164.45, for a total transaction of $82,225.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 2,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $328,900. The trade was a 20.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Lisbeth Mcnabb sold 875 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, December 9th. The shares were 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 of the company’s stock, valued at $989,344. This represents a 13.20 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 161,589 shares of company stock worth $26,171,210. Insiders own 6.30% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Nexstar Media Group

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of NXST. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its holdings in Nexstar Media Group by 0.4% in the 4th quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,331,355 shares of the company’s stock valued at $210,314,000 after acquiring an additional 4,704 shares during the period. Pacer Advisors Inc. grew its position in shares of Nexstar Media Group by 27,180.2% in the fourth quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 1,206,877 shares of the company’s stock valued at $190,650,000 after purchasing an additional 1,202,453 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its stake in shares of Nexstar Media Group by 1.7% during the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,102,126 shares of the company’s stock worth $174,103,000 after purchasing an additional 18,675 shares during the period. Demars Financial Group LLC increased its stake in shares of Nexstar Media Group by 16,009.5% during the fourth quarter. Demars Financial Group LLC now owns 773,737 shares of the company’s stock worth $122,227,000 after purchasing an additional 768,934 shares during the period. Finally, Northern Trust Corp lifted its holdings in Nexstar Media Group by 22.3% during the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 463,139 shares of the company’s stock worth $73,162,000 after purchasing an additional 84,367 shares during the last quarter. 95.30% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.