Sit Investment Associates Inc. Lowers Position in Nexstar Media Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:NXST)

Sit Investment Associates Inc. decreased its stake in shares of Nexstar Media Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:NXST) by 36.7% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 22,480 shares of the company’s stock after selling 13,025 shares during the quarter. Sit Investment Associates Inc.’s holdings in Nexstar Media Group were worth $3,551,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Pacer Advisors Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Nexstar Media Group by 27,180.2% in the 4th 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 in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its position in 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 valued at $174,103,000 after buying an additional 18,675 shares in the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp lifted its position in Nexstar Media Group by 5.0% during the fourth quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 403,728 shares of the company’s stock valued at $63,777,000 after buying an additional 19,116 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in Nexstar Media Group during the fourth quarter worth approximately $44,460,000. Finally, Boston Partners increased its position in shares of Nexstar Media Group by 1.6% in the fourth quarter. Boston Partners now owns 277,297 shares of the company’s stock worth $43,656,000 after acquiring an additional 4,457 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 95.30% of the company’s stock.

Nexstar Media Group Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ NXST opened at $153.42 on Monday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.68, a current ratio of 1.68 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.98. Nexstar Media Group, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $146.04 and a fifty-two week high of $191.86. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $164.06 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $164.84. The firm has a market cap of $4.68 billion, a PE ratio of 8.87, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.45 and a beta of 1.09.

Nexstar Media Group (NASDAQ:NXST) last released its quarterly earnings results 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). The company 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%. Sell-side analysts expect that Nexstar Media Group, Inc. will post 21.62 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Nexstar Media Group Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, February 26th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, February 12th were given a $1.86 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, February 12th. This represents a $7.44 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.85%. This is an increase from Nexstar Media Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.69. Nexstar Media Group’s payout ratio is presently 34.56%.

Insider Activity

In related news, CEO Perry A. Sook sold 32,096 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $170.67, for a total value of $5,477,824.32. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 806,019 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $137,563,262.73. The trade was a 3.83 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, insider Gary Weitman sold 1,241 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $177.21, for a total value of $219,917.61. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 3,975 shares in the company, valued at approximately $704,409.75. This represents a 23.79 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 39,105 shares of company stock worth $6,722,463. 6.30% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts recently weighed in on NXST shares. Rosenblatt Securities reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $200.00 price target on shares of Nexstar Media Group in a research report on Monday, March 10th. Loop Capital raised Nexstar Media Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their target price for the stock from $190.00 to $200.00 in a research report on Friday, February 28th. Barrington Research reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $200.00 target price on shares of Nexstar Media Group in a report on Wednesday, March 5th. StockNews.com cut Nexstar Media Group from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, March 3rd. Finally, Benchmark lifted 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 note on Friday, February 28th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $208.43.

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.