AQR Capital Management LLC Cuts Position in Nexstar Media Group, Inc. $NXST

Key Points

• AQR Capital Management LLC has reduced its stake in Nexstar Media Group by 41.2% during the first quarter, now owning 0.82% of the company, worth approximately $44.2 million.
• Several large investors have increased their positions, including Victory Capital Management, which raised its stake by 611.5%, now holding over 289,000 shares.
• Nexstar Media Group's quarterly earnings exceeded expectations with $3.06 EPS and reported a revenue of $1.23 billion, a 3.2% year-over-year decline.

AQR Capital Management LLC cut its holdings in Nexstar Media Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:NXST - Free Report) by 41.2% in the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 249,304 shares of the company's stock after selling 174,504 shares during the quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC owned 0.82% of Nexstar Media Group worth $44,224,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the business. D.A. Davidson & CO. acquired a new stake in Nexstar Media Group in the 1st quarter valued at $323,000. Crossmark Global Holdings Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Nexstar Media Group during the first quarter worth about $219,000. Foster & Motley Inc. raised its position in shares of Nexstar Media Group by 8.5% during the 1st quarter. Foster & Motley Inc. now owns 41,063 shares of the company's stock worth $7,359,000 after purchasing an additional 3,202 shares during the last quarter. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. lifted its stake in Nexstar Media Group by 1.8% in the 1st 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 in the last quarter. Finally, Harvest Fund Management Co. Ltd purchased a new position in Nexstar Media Group in the 1st quarter valued at about $218,000. 95.30% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity at Nexstar Media Group

In other Nexstar Media Group news, insider Sean Compton sold 850 shares of Nexstar Media Group stock in a transaction on Tuesday, June 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $165.25, for a total value of $140,462.50. Following the sale, the insider owned 15,272 shares in the company, valued at $2,523,698. The trade was a 5.27% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, insider Andrew Alford sold 757 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, June 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $165.25, for a total value of $125,094.25. Following the transaction, the insider owned 10,528 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,739,752. This represents a 6.71% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 5,209 shares of company stock valued at $860,787 over the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 6.70% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

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

Nexstar Media Group Trading Up 0.4%

Shares of NASDAQ NXST traded up $0.73 during trading on Friday, hitting $206.95. 301,153 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 364,465. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $195.15 and a 200-day moving average price of $176.43. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.80, a quick ratio of 1.69 and a current ratio of 1.69. The firm has a market capitalization of $6.27 billion, a PE ratio of 10.75, a P/E/G ratio of 1.53 and a beta of 1.04. Nexstar Media Group, Inc. has a 12-month low of $141.66 and a 12-month high of $223.36.

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

Nexstar Media Group Dividend Announcement

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

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.