Nexstar Media Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:NXST) Given Consensus Rating of “Moderate Buy” by Brokerages

Nexstar Media Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:NXST) has received a consensus recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the seven ratings firms that are presently covering the company, MarketBeat Ratings reports. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company. The average 1-year target price among brokerages that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $204.29.

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on NXST. Guggenheim lowered their price target on Nexstar Media Group from $200.00 to $198.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, October 4th. Loop Capital cut shares of Nexstar Media Group from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and lowered their target price for the stock from $200.00 to $190.00 in a research note on Friday, November 8th. StockNews.com raised shares of Nexstar Media Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, November 8th. Benchmark reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $215.00 price target on shares of Nexstar Media Group in a research note on Friday, November 8th. Finally, Barrington Research reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $200.00 price objective on shares of Nexstar Media Group in a research note on Thursday, November 7th.

Nexstar Media Group Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ NXST opened at $152.86 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.98, a quick ratio of 1.68 and a current ratio of 1.68. The firm has a market cap of $4.74 billion, a PE ratio of 8.84, a PEG ratio of 0.20 and a beta of 1.45. Nexstar Media Group has a one year low of $147.25 and a one year high of $191.86. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $162.59 and a 200 day moving average of $167.27.

Nexstar Media Group (NASDAQ:NXST) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, November 7th. The company reported $5.27 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $5.51 by ($0.24). Nexstar Media Group had a return on equity of 26.03% and a net margin of 11.39%. The company had revenue of $1.37 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.37 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $0.70 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 20.7% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts predict that Nexstar Media Group will post 24.53 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Nexstar Media Group Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 29th. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 15th were issued a $1.69 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, November 15th. This represents a $6.76 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.42%. Nexstar Media Group’s payout ratio is 39.10%.

Insider Transactions at Nexstar Media Group

In other news, Director Bernadette S. Aulestia sold 500 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, December 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $164.45, for a total transaction of $82,225.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 2,000 shares in the company, valued at approximately $328,900. This represents a 20.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Perry A. Sook sold 12,239 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 674,694 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $128,380,774.32. The trade was a 1.78 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 146,448 shares of company stock worth $23,828,076 in the last 90 days. Insiders own 6.30% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Nexstar Media Group

Large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Brooklyn Investment Group purchased a new stake in Nexstar Media Group in the third quarter valued at approximately $25,000. True Wealth Design LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Nexstar Media Group in the 3rd quarter valued at $30,000. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB acquired a new position in Nexstar Media Group during the 3rd quarter worth about $33,000. Capital Performance Advisors LLP acquired a new position in Nexstar Media Group during the 3rd quarter worth about $44,000. Finally, Quarry LP boosted its holdings in Nexstar Media Group by 77.8% during the 2nd quarter. Quarry LP now owns 297 shares of the company’s stock valued at $49,000 after acquiring an additional 130 shares during the period. 95.30% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.