8,826 Shares in Nexstar Media Group, Inc. $NXST Acquired by Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio

Key Points

• Institutional ownership increased: The Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio acquired 8,826 Nexstar shares worth approximately $1.58 million. Institutional investors collectively own 95.3% of NXST.
• Analyst sentiment remains moderately positive: Nexstar has a consensus “Moderate Buy” rating and a $259 price target, although several analysts recently lowered targets and Zacks downgraded the stock to “strong sell.”
• Results were mixed: Quarterly revenue rose 62.2% year over year to $1.99 billion and exceeded expectations, but EPS of $3.61 fell well short of the $5.98 consensus estimate. The company also paid a quarterly dividend of $1.86 per share, implying a 4.2% annualized yield.

Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio purchased a new stake in Nexstar Media Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:NXST - Free Report) in the second quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor purchased 8,826 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,576,000.

Other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Bank of America Corp DE raised its stake in Nexstar Media Group by 17.0% during the 1st quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 173,269 shares of the company's stock worth $31,332,000 after acquiring an additional 25,193 shares in the last quarter. Sentinel Dome Partners LLC acquired a new position in Nexstar Media Group in the fourth quarter valued at $2,315,000. CPC Advisors LLC boosted its stake in Nexstar Media Group by 114.3% in the first quarter. CPC Advisors LLC now owns 26,651 shares of the company's stock valued at $4,819,000 after acquiring an additional 14,217 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Nexstar Media Group by 1.7% during the fourth 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. grew its holdings in shares of Nexstar Media Group by 3,648.3% during the fourth quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 64,995 shares of the company's stock worth $13,197,000 after purchasing an additional 63,261 shares during the last quarter. 95.30% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have recently commented on NXST shares. Wells Fargo & Company cut their target price on Nexstar Media Group from $253.00 to $249.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, August 7th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft decreased their target price on Nexstar Media Group from $270.00 to $255.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, May 11th. Zacks Research downgraded Nexstar Media Group from a "hold" rating to a "strong sell" rating in a research note on Monday, August 10th. Wall Street Zen lowered Nexstar Media Group from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Sunday, July 12th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reiterated a "hold (c)" rating on shares of Nexstar Media Group in a research note on Monday, August 24th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, one has issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $259.00.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CEO Perry Sook bought 12,235 shares of Nexstar Media Group stock in a transaction dated Friday, June 26th. The stock was bought at an average price of $162.26 per share, for a total transaction of $1,985,251.10. Following the purchase, the chief executive officer owned 899,044 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $145,878,879.44. The trade was a 1.38% increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, insider Brett Jenkins sold 301 shares of Nexstar Media Group stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, June 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $170.81, for a total transaction of $51,413.81. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 28,798 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,918,986.38. The trade was a 1.03% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. In the last three months, insiders have sold 15,788 shares of company stock worth $2,831,669. 7.00% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Nexstar Media Group Stock Performance

NASDAQ NXST opened at $176.83 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.09, a quick ratio of 1.56 and a current ratio of 1.56. The firm has a market cap of $5.45 billion, a PE ratio of 33.94 and a beta of 0.90. Nexstar Media Group, Inc. has a one year low of $154.47 and a one year high of $254.30. The firm's fifty day moving average is $184.19 and its two-hundred day moving average is $195.34.

Nexstar Media Group (NASDAQ:NXST - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, August 6th. The company reported $3.61 EPS 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 business had revenue of $1.99 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.97 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $3.06 earnings per share. Nexstar Media Group's quarterly revenue was up 62.2% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts expect that Nexstar Media Group, Inc. will post 32.88 earnings per share for the current year.

Nexstar Media Group Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 28th. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 14th were given a dividend of $1.86 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, August 14th. This represents a $7.44 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.2%. Nexstar Media Group's dividend payout ratio is presently 142.80%.

Nexstar Media Group Company Profile

Nexstar Media Group, Inc is a diversified American media company engaged primarily in the ownership, operation and strategic affiliation of local television stations, digital platforms and cable networks. The company provides a range of broadcast content, including local news, sports coverage, entertainment programming and syndicated shows, reaching audiences in more than 100 television markets across the United States.

Founded in 1996 by entrepreneur Perry Sook and headquartered in Irving, Texas, Nexstar has built its presence through organic growth and a series of high-profile acquisitions.

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