Nexstar Media Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:NXST) Given Average Recommendation of “Buy” by Analysts

Nexstar Media Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:NXST) has been assigned a consensus rating of “Buy” from the seven research firms that are covering the company, MarketBeat reports. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a buy recommendation. The average twelve-month target price among analysts that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $208.43.

NXST has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Rosenblatt Securities reissued a “buy” rating and set a $200.00 price objective on shares of Nexstar Media Group in a report on Monday. Benchmark upped their target price on shares of Nexstar Media Group from $200.00 to $225.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, February 28th. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Nexstar Media Group from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, March 3rd. Barrington Research reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $200.00 target price on shares of Nexstar Media Group in a research note on Wednesday, March 5th. Finally, Loop Capital raised shares of Nexstar Media Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their price target for the stock from $190.00 to $200.00 in a research note on Friday, February 28th.

Insider Transactions at Nexstar Media Group

In related news, Director Charles Thomas Mcmillen sold 2,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $169.51, for a total transaction of $339,020.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 4,975 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $843,312.25. This represents a 28.67 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Perry A. Sook sold 52,808 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, December 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $157.41, for a total value of $8,312,507.28. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 674,694 shares in the company, valued at approximately $106,203,582.54. The trade was a 7.26 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 161,455 shares of company stock valued at $26,158,403 over the last ninety days. 6.30% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Nexstar Media Group

A number of large investors have recently modified their holdings of NXST. Brooklyn Investment Group purchased a new position in Nexstar Media Group in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $25,000. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. bought a new stake in shares of Nexstar Media Group during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $25,000. True Wealth Design LLC bought a new stake in shares of Nexstar Media Group during the third quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB bought a new stake in shares of Nexstar Media Group during the third quarter valued at approximately $33,000. Finally, Jones Financial Companies Lllp boosted its position in shares of Nexstar Media Group by 15.3% during the fourth quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 550 shares of the company’s stock valued at $87,000 after purchasing an additional 73 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 95.30% of the company’s stock.

Nexstar Media Group Stock Performance

Shares of NXST opened at $169.06 on Wednesday. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $157.22 and its 200 day moving average price is $163.76. Nexstar Media Group has a 52 week low of $146.04 and a 52 week high of $191.86. The company has a market capitalization of $5.16 billion, a PE ratio of 9.78, a PEG ratio of 0.45 and a beta of 1.47. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.98, a quick ratio of 1.68 and a current ratio of 1.68.

Nexstar Media Group (NASDAQ:NXST) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 27th. The company reported $7.56 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $9.22 by ($1.66). The firm had revenue of $1.49 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.48 billion. Nexstar Media Group had a return on equity of 26.03% and a net margin of 11.39%. Research analysts expect that Nexstar Media Group will post 21.62 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Nexstar Media Group Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, February 26th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, February 12th were given a dividend of $1.86 per share. This represents a $7.44 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.40%. This is a positive change from Nexstar Media Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.69. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, February 12th. Nexstar Media Group’s dividend payout ratio is presently 34.56%.

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.