Nexstar Media Group (NASDAQ:NXST) Hits New 52-Week High at $187.27

Nexstar Media Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:NXST) reached a new 52-week high on Thursday . The company traded as high as $187.27 and last traded at $180.85, with a volume of 45456 shares. The stock had previously closed at $184.79.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have recently commented on the stock. Benchmark reissued a “buy” rating and set a $225.00 target price on shares of Nexstar Media Group in a research report on Thursday, June 20th. Loop Capital upgraded Nexstar Media Group to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Friday, May 10th. Barrington Research reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $200.00 price target on shares of Nexstar Media Group in a research note on Tuesday, July 23rd. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company upgraded Nexstar Media Group from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and raised their price objective for the company from $190.00 to $221.00 in a research note on Monday, May 13th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, five have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $203.67.

Nexstar Media Group Stock Performance

The firm has a market cap of $5.93 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.26, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.67 and a beta of 1.50. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $165.19 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $166.69. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.85, a current ratio of 1.80 and a quick ratio of 1.80.

Nexstar Media Group (NASDAQ:NXST) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 9th. The company reported $5.16 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $4.28 by $0.88. The company had revenue of $1.28 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.29 billion. Nexstar Media Group had a return on equity of 17.18% and a net margin of 8.29%. The firm’s revenue was up 2.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $2.97 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Nexstar Media Group, Inc. will post 27.62 EPS for the current year.

Nexstar Media Group Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 23rd. Investors of record on Friday, August 9th will be paid a $1.69 dividend. This represents a $6.76 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.76%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, August 9th. Nexstar Media Group’s dividend payout ratio is 57.19%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CFO Lee Ann Gliha sold 326 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, June 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $160.00, for a total transaction of $52,160.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 5,462 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $873,920. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. In other news, CFO Lee Ann Gliha sold 326 shares of Nexstar Media Group stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, June 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $160.00, for a total transaction of $52,160.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 5,462 shares in the company, valued at approximately $873,920. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, EVP Blake Russell sold 433 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, May 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $167.43, for a total transaction of $72,497.19. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 25,537 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,275,659.91. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 6,826 shares of company stock worth $1,080,597. 5.90% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Nexstar Media Group

Large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. SummerHaven Investment Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Nexstar Media Group by 1.8% in the fourth quarter. SummerHaven Investment Management LLC now owns 4,066 shares of the company’s stock worth $637,000 after buying an additional 70 shares during the last quarter. Signaturefd LLC increased its stake in shares of Nexstar Media Group by 20.3% in the fourth quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 420 shares of the company’s stock worth $66,000 after purchasing an additional 71 shares during the period. Granite Group Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of Nexstar Media Group by 5.1% during the 1st quarter. Granite Group Advisors LLC now owns 1,489 shares of the company’s stock worth $257,000 after purchasing an additional 72 shares during the last quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp grew its holdings in Nexstar Media Group by 7.8% in the 4th quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 1,122 shares of the company’s stock valued at $176,000 after buying an additional 81 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Quadrant Capital Group LLC increased its position in Nexstar Media Group by 41.1% in the 4th quarter. Quadrant Capital Group LLC now owns 295 shares of the company’s stock worth $46,000 after buying an additional 86 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 95.30% of the company’s stock.

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.