Nexstar Media Group (NASDAQ:NXST) Receives Buy Rating from Guggenheim

Guggenheim restated their buy rating on shares of Nexstar Media Group (NASDAQ:NXST) in a research note published on Wednesday morning,Benzinga reports.

A number of other research firms have also weighed in on NXST. StockNews.com raised Nexstar Media Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, November 8th. Loop Capital downgraded Nexstar Media Group from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and lowered their price objective for the company from $200.00 to $190.00 in a research report on Friday, November 8th. Benchmark restated a “buy” rating and issued a $215.00 target price on shares of Nexstar Media Group in a report on Friday, November 8th. Finally, Barrington Research reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $200.00 target price on shares of Nexstar Media Group in a research note on Thursday, November 7th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $204.29.

Nexstar Media Group Stock Performance

NASDAQ:NXST opened at $157.72 on Wednesday. The company has a market capitalization of $4.89 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.12, a PEG ratio of 0.26 and a beta of 1.45. The business has a 50 day moving average of $161.79 and a 200 day moving average of $166.96. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.98, a current ratio of 1.68 and a quick ratio of 1.68. Nexstar Media Group has a 1-year low of $147.25 and a 1-year high of $191.86.

Nexstar Media Group (NASDAQ:NXST) last announced its quarterly earnings data 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). The business had revenue of $1.37 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.37 billion. Nexstar Media Group had a net margin of 11.39% and a return on equity of 26.03%. Nexstar Media Group’s revenue for the quarter was up 20.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company posted $0.70 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Nexstar Media Group will post 24.53 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Nexstar Media Group Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 29th. Investors of record on Friday, November 15th were paid a $1.69 dividend. This represents a $6.76 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.29%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, November 15th. Nexstar Media Group’s payout ratio is 39.10%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Nexstar Media Group

In other news, CEO Perry A. Sook sold 12,239 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, November 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $190.28, for a total value of $2,328,836.92. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 674,694 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $128,380,774.32. This represents a 1.78 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director Charles Thomas Mcmillen sold 750 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, December 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $159.93, for a total value of $119,947.50. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 6,975 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,115,511.75. The trade was a 9.71 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 146,448 shares of company stock valued at $23,828,076. 6.30% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of large investors have recently bought and sold shares of NXST. BNP Paribas Financial Markets lifted its holdings in shares of Nexstar Media Group by 67.8% during the third quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 26,239 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,339,000 after purchasing an additional 10,603 shares during the last quarter. SGL Investment Advisors Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Nexstar Media Group in the 3rd quarter worth about $3,758,000. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its position in Nexstar Media Group by 0.7% during the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,083,451 shares of the company’s stock valued at $179,149,000 after purchasing an additional 7,117 shares during the last quarter. Quest Partners LLC increased its stake in Nexstar Media Group by 661.4% during the 3rd quarter. Quest Partners LLC now owns 8,672 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,434,000 after purchasing an additional 7,533 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Holocene Advisors LP raised its holdings in Nexstar Media Group by 680.9% in the third quarter. Holocene Advisors LP now owns 17,219 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,847,000 after buying an additional 15,014 shares during the last quarter. 95.30% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.