Nexstar Media Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:NXST) Receives Consensus Recommendation of "Moderate Buy" from Analysts

Key Points

• Analysts maintain a “Moderate Buy” consensus on Nexstar Media Group, with six buy ratings, one hold and one sell. The average 12-month price target is $256.50, well above the reported share price of $169.09.
• Nexstar’s latest quarterly revenue rose 62.2% year over year to $1.99 billion, exceeding estimates, but earnings of $3.61 per share fell short of the $5.98 consensus forecast.
• The company pays a quarterly dividend of $1.86 per share, equivalent to a 4.4% yield, although its 142.8% payout ratio exceeds current earnings. Institutional investors own approximately 95.3% of the stock.

Shares of Nexstar Media Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:NXST - Get Free Report) have earned a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" from the eight brokerages that are presently covering the stock, Marketbeat reports. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has issued a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company. The average 1 year price target among brokerages that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $256.50.

A number of research firms have recently commented on NXST. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft cut their price objective on Nexstar Media Group from $255.00 to $240.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, August 10th. Weiss Ratings reissued a "hold (c)" rating on shares of Nexstar Media Group in a research report on Monday, August 24th. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price target on shares of Nexstar Media Group from $253.00 to $249.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, August 7th. Zacks Research cut shares of Nexstar Media Group from a "hold" rating to a "strong sell" rating in a research report on Monday, August 10th. Finally, Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Nexstar Media Group from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Sunday, July 12th.

Nexstar Media Group Trading Down 0.5%

NXST stock opened at $169.09 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.56, a current ratio of 1.56 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.09. The company has a market cap of $5.21 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 32.45 and a beta of 0.90. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $183.21 and a 200-day simple moving average of $193.76. Nexstar Media Group has a 52 week low of $154.47 and a 52 week high of $254.30.

Nexstar Media Group (NASDAQ:NXST - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, August 6th. The company reported $3.61 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $5.98 by ($2.37). Nexstar Media Group had a net margin of 3.20% and a return on equity of 24.02%. The firm had revenue of $1.99 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.97 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $3.06 EPS. Nexstar Media Group's revenue was up 62.2% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts expect that Nexstar Media Group will post 32.88 EPS for the current year.

Nexstar Media Group Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 28th. Investors of record on Friday, August 14th were issued a dividend of $1.86 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, August 14th. This represents a $7.44 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.4%. Nexstar Media Group's payout ratio is presently 142.80%.

Insider Activity

In related news, CEO Perry A. Sook acquired 12,235 shares of Nexstar Media Group stock in a transaction on Friday, June 26th. The shares were bought at an average price of $162.26 per share, for a total transaction of $1,985,251.10. Following the completion of the purchase, the chief executive officer directly owned 899,044 shares in the company, valued at $145,878,879.44. This trade represents a 1.38% increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, EVP Lee Ann Gliha sold 373 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, June 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $170.81, for a total value of $63,712.13. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 20,075 shares of the company's stock, valued at $3,429,010.75. The trade was a 1.82% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. Insiders sold 10,524 shares of company stock worth $1,906,134 in the last quarter. Insiders own 7.00% of the company's stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Nexstar Media Group

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of NXST. Bank of America Corp DE boosted its stake in Nexstar Media Group by 17.0% in the first quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 173,269 shares of the company's stock valued at $31,332,000 after acquiring an additional 25,193 shares during the period. Sentinel Dome Partners LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Nexstar Media Group during the 4th quarter worth approximately $2,315,000. CPC Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Nexstar Media Group by 114.3% in the 1st quarter. CPC Advisors LLC now owns 26,651 shares of the company's stock worth $4,819,000 after purchasing an additional 14,217 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Nexstar Media Group by 1.7% in the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 773,443 shares of the company's stock worth $157,114,000 after purchasing an additional 13,084 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. boosted its position in Nexstar Media Group by 3,648.3% during the 4th quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 64,995 shares of the company's stock valued at $13,197,000 after purchasing an additional 63,261 shares during the period. 95.30% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About Nexstar Media Group

Nexstar Media Group, Inc is a diversified American media company that owns and operates local television stations and digital media platforms across the United States. Its stations provide locally produced news, weather, sports and community programming, while also carrying programming from major broadcast networks, including ABC, CBS, NBC, FOX and The CW, depending on the market.

The company also operates NewsNation, a national cable news and information network, and develops digital content and advertising solutions through its online properties.

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