Nexstar Media Group (NASDAQ:NXST) Lifted to Buy at StockNews.com

Nexstar Media Group (NASDAQ:NXST) was upgraded by StockNews.com from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report issued on Thursday.

Several other research firms have also recently issued reports on NXST. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft decreased their price target on Nexstar Media Group from $207.00 to $205.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, August 9th. Benchmark reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $225.00 price target on shares of Nexstar Media Group in a research note on Friday, August 9th. Barrington Research restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $200.00 price objective on shares of Nexstar Media Group in a report on Thursday, August 8th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company decreased their target price on 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. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, six have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $201.67.

Nexstar Media Group Price Performance

Shares of NXST opened at $162.54 on Thursday. The company has a market cap of $5.24 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.75, a PEG ratio of 0.19 and a beta of 1.49. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $168.94 and a 200 day moving average price of $165.90. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.92, a current ratio of 1.78 and a quick ratio of 1.78. Nexstar Media Group has a 12 month low of $132.30 and a 12 month high of $187.27.

Nexstar Media Group (NASDAQ:NXST) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 8th. The company reported $3.54 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $4.48 by ($0.94). Nexstar Media Group had a return on equity of 18.65% and a net margin of 8.68%. The business had revenue of $1.27 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.28 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $2.64 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.3% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts forecast that Nexstar Media Group will post 25.72 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Transactions at Nexstar Media Group

In other news, CFO Lee Ann Gliha sold 984 shares of Nexstar Media Group stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $157.63, for a total value of $155,107.92. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 8,107 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,277,906.41. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. In other news, insider Andrew Alford sold 3,175 shares of Nexstar Media Group stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, September 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $167.82, for a total value of $532,828.50. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 9,173 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,539,412.86. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Lee Ann Gliha sold 984 shares of Nexstar Media Group stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $157.63, for a total transaction of $155,107.92. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 8,107 shares in the company, valued at $1,277,906.41. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 33,601 shares of company stock valued at $5,649,306 in the last quarter. Insiders own 5.90% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its position in shares of Nexstar Media Group by 3.9% in the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 3,370,415 shares of the company’s stock worth $580,689,000 after acquiring an additional 127,783 shares in the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its position in shares of Nexstar Media Group by 4.9% in the second quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,326,476 shares of the company’s stock worth $220,189,000 after acquiring an additional 62,331 shares in the last quarter. Capital Research Global Investors acquired a new stake in shares of Nexstar Media Group during the first quarter worth approximately $92,323,000. Point72 Asset Management L.P. boosted its holdings in shares of Nexstar Media Group by 392.6% during the fourth quarter. Point72 Asset Management L.P. now owns 450,351 shares of the company’s stock worth $70,593,000 after purchasing an additional 358,920 shares during the period. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp boosted its holdings in shares of Nexstar Media Group by 0.5% during the second quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 418,815 shares of the company’s stock worth $69,528,000 after purchasing an additional 2,145 shares during the period. 95.30% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other 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.