Ameriprise Financial Inc. Sells 36,662 Shares of Nexstar Media Group, Inc. $NXST

Key Points

• Ameriprise Financial Inc. has reduced its stake in Nexstar Media Group by 9.1%, now owning approximately 1.20% of the company, equivalent to $65.6 million.
• Several hedge funds have significantly increased their holdings in Nexstar Media Group, with increases of up to 2,293.8% noted in the first quarter.
• Nexstar Media Group announced a quarterly dividend of $1.86 per share, yielding approximately 3.6%, to be paid on August 29th.

Ameriprise Financial Inc. lowered its stake in shares of Nexstar Media Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:NXST - Free Report) by 9.1% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 366,186 shares of the company's stock after selling 36,662 shares during the period. Ameriprise Financial Inc. owned 1.20% of Nexstar Media Group worth $65,628,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. D.A. Davidson & CO. bought a new stake in shares of Nexstar Media Group during the first quarter valued at approximately $323,000. Crossmark Global Holdings Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Nexstar Media Group during the first quarter valued at approximately $219,000. Foster & Motley Inc. raised its position in shares of Nexstar Media Group by 8.5% during the first quarter. Foster & Motley Inc. now owns 41,063 shares of the company's stock valued at $7,359,000 after buying an additional 3,202 shares during the last quarter. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. boosted its stake in Nexstar Media Group by 1.8% during the first quarter. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. now owns 34,484 shares of the company's stock valued at $6,180,000 after buying an additional 624 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Harvest Fund Management Co. Ltd bought a new position in Nexstar Media Group during the first quarter valued at approximately $218,000. Institutional investors own 95.30% of the company's stock.

Nexstar Media Group Trading Up 1.7%

NASDAQ NXST traded up $3.40 during trading hours on Monday, hitting $204.53. 408,776 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 454,577. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $189.95 and a 200 day moving average price of $173.45. The company has a quick ratio of 1.69, a current ratio of 1.69 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.80. Nexstar Media Group, Inc. has a 52 week low of $141.66 and a 52 week high of $223.36. The stock has a market cap of $6.20 billion, a PE ratio of 10.62, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.52 and a beta of 1.04.

Nexstar Media Group (NASDAQ:NXST - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 7th. The company reported $3.06 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.95 by $0.11. Nexstar Media Group had a return on equity of 28.40% and a net margin of 11.90%.The company had revenue of $1.23 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.21 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $3.54 earnings per share. The firm's revenue for the quarter was down 3.2% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts forecast that Nexstar Media Group, Inc. will post 21.62 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Nexstar Media Group Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 29th. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 15th were paid a $1.86 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, August 15th. This represents a $7.44 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.6%. Nexstar Media Group's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 38.63%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages recently commented on NXST. Zacks Research raised Nexstar Media Group to a "hold" rating in a research note on Friday, August 8th. Barrington Research reissued an "outperform" rating and set a $225.00 price target on shares of Nexstar Media Group in a research note on Tuesday, August 19th. Benchmark increased their price target on Nexstar Media Group from $220.00 to $225.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, August 8th. Guggenheim increased their price target on Nexstar Media Group from $220.00 to $250.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 20th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on Nexstar Media Group from $206.00 to $250.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday, August 8th. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has given a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $225.00.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Nexstar Media Group news, insider Brett Jenkins sold 610 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, June 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $165.25, for a total value of $100,802.50. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 25,616 shares of the company's stock, valued at $4,233,044. This trade represents a 2.33% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, insider Dana Zimmer sold 889 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, June 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $165.25, for a total transaction of $146,907.25. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 6,201 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,024,715.25. The trade was a 12.54% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 9,291 shares of company stock valued at $1,543,502 over the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 6.70% of the company's stock.

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.