Comerica Bank Cuts Stock Position in Nexstar Media Group, Inc. $NXST

Key Points

• Comerica Bank has decreased its stake in Nexstar Media Group by 24.6%, owning 13,043 shares worth approximately $2.34 million after selling 4,255 shares in the first quarter.
• Insider activity includes significant sales, with Blake Russell and Brett Jenkins selling shares, reducing their ownership by 2.00% and 2.33% respectively.
• Analysts have raised their price targets for Nexstar Media Group, with Wells Fargo and Guggenheim setting new targets at $250, indicating strong market support for the stock.

Comerica Bank reduced its position in Nexstar Media Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:NXST - Free Report) by 24.6% in the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 13,043 shares of the company's stock after selling 4,255 shares during the quarter. Comerica Bank's holdings in Nexstar Media Group were worth $2,337,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its stake in shares of Nexstar Media Group by 0.8% in the 1st quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,341,899 shares of the company's stock valued at $240,481,000 after acquiring an additional 10,544 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Nexstar Media Group by 3.3% in the 1st quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,138,064 shares of the company's stock valued at $203,964,000 after acquiring an additional 35,938 shares during the last quarter. Demars Financial Group LLC lifted its stake in shares of Nexstar Media Group by 13.6% in the 1st quarter. Demars Financial Group LLC now owns 879,253 shares of the company's stock valued at $157,580,000 after acquiring an additional 105,516 shares during the last quarter. Fuller & Thaler Asset Management Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Nexstar Media Group by 32.1% in the 1st quarter. Fuller & Thaler Asset Management Inc. now owns 804,095 shares of the company's stock valued at $144,110,000 after acquiring an additional 195,574 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Northern Trust Corp lifted its stake in shares of Nexstar Media Group by 7.9% in the 1st quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 499,896 shares of the company's stock valued at $89,591,000 after acquiring an additional 36,757 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 95.30% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Nexstar Media Group

In other Nexstar Media Group news, EVP Blake Russell sold 507 shares of Nexstar Media Group stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, June 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $165.25, for a total transaction of $83,781.75. Following the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 24,826 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $4,102,496.50. The trade was a 2.00% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, insider Brett Jenkins sold 610 shares of Nexstar Media Group stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, June 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $165.25, for a total value of $100,802.50. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 25,616 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,233,044. The trade was a 2.33% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 9,291 shares of company stock worth $1,543,502. Insiders own 6.70% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

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

Nexstar Media Group Stock Up 1.7%

Shares of NASDAQ:NXST opened at $204.53 on Tuesday. The stock's 50-day moving average is $189.95 and its 200 day moving average is $173.45. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.80, a current ratio of 1.69 and a quick ratio of 1.69. The company has a market cap of $6.20 billion, a PE ratio of 10.62, a P/E/G ratio of 1.52 and a beta of 1.04. Nexstar Media Group, Inc. has a 1 year low of $141.66 and a 1 year high of $223.36.

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

Nexstar Media Group Dividend Announcement

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

Nexstar Media Group 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.

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