Nexstar Media Group (NASDAQ:NXST) Upgraded to “Buy” at StockNews.com

StockNews.com upgraded shares of Nexstar Media Group (NASDAQ:NXST) from a hold rating to a buy rating in a report released on Friday.

Several other research firms have also recently commented on NXST. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their target price on shares of Nexstar Media Group from $221.00 to $209.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, August 9th. Guggenheim reduced their price objective on Nexstar Media Group from $200.00 to $198.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, October 4th. Benchmark reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $215.00 target price on shares of Nexstar Media Group in a research report on Friday. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reduced their price target on Nexstar Media Group from $207.00 to $205.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, August 9th. Finally, Barrington Research reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $200.00 price objective on shares of Nexstar Media Group in a research report on Thursday. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Nexstar Media Group presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $198.50.

Nexstar Media Group Trading Down 11.9 %

NASDAQ:NXST traded down $22.46 on Friday, reaching $166.04. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 1,148,413 shares, compared to its average volume of 278,403. Nexstar Media Group has a 1-year low of $140.92 and a 1-year high of $191.86. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $168.54 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $166.94. The firm has a market cap of $5.36 billion, a PE ratio of 13.05, a PEG ratio of 0.21 and a beta of 1.48. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.92, a quick ratio of 1.78 and a current ratio of 1.78.

Nexstar Media Group (NASDAQ:NXST) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, November 7th. The company reported $5.27 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $5.51 by ($0.24). Nexstar Media Group had a return on equity of 18.65% and a net margin of 8.68%. The business had revenue of $1.37 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.37 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $0.70 earnings per share. Nexstar Media Group’s revenue for the quarter was up 20.7% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts anticipate that Nexstar Media Group will post 25.72 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Nexstar Media Group Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 29th. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 15th will be given a $1.69 dividend. This represents a $6.76 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.07%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, November 15th. Nexstar Media Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 53.14%.

Insider Transactions at Nexstar Media Group

In related news, insider Sean Compton sold 3,930 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $160.61, for a total value of $631,197.30. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 10,684 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,715,957.24. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. In other Nexstar Media Group news, insider Sean Compton sold 3,930 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, August 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $160.61, for a total transaction of $631,197.30. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 10,684 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,715,957.24. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director Charles Thomas Mcmillen sold 250 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, September 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $164.44, for a total transaction of $41,110.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 7,725 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,270,299. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 41,112 shares of company stock worth $6,887,029 in the last ninety days. Insiders own 6.30% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several large investors have recently bought and sold shares of NXST. BNP PARIBAS ASSET MANAGEMENT Holding S.A. increased its stake in shares of Nexstar Media Group by 5.8% during the third quarter. BNP PARIBAS ASSET MANAGEMENT Holding S.A. now owns 111,905 shares of the company’s stock worth $18,504,000 after purchasing an additional 6,101 shares during the period. Payden & Rygel increased its position in Nexstar Media Group by 40.4% during the 3rd quarter. Payden & Rygel now owns 110,200 shares of the company’s stock worth $18,222,000 after buying an additional 31,700 shares during the period. Advisors Asset Management Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Nexstar Media Group by 46.8% during the third quarter. Advisors Asset Management Inc. now owns 21,908 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,622,000 after buying an additional 6,984 shares in the last quarter. Pathstone Holdings LLC boosted its position in shares of Nexstar Media Group by 6.7% in the third quarter. Pathstone Holdings LLC now owns 22,009 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,639,000 after acquiring an additional 1,388 shares during the period. Finally, Quest Partners LLC grew its stake in shares of Nexstar Media Group by 661.4% in the third quarter. Quest Partners LLC now owns 8,672 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,434,000 after acquiring an additional 7,533 shares in the last quarter. 95.30% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.