Empowered Funds LLC Purchases 40,581 Shares of Nexstar Media Group, Inc. $NXST

Key Points

• Empowered Funds LLC increased its stake in Nexstar Media Group, Inc. by 158.7%, owning approximately 66,156 shares valued at $11.86 million after acquiring 40,581 additional shares in the first quarter.
• Nexstar's stock recently saw a 3.0% decline, with shares opening at $202.67, set against a market cap of $6.14 billion and a PE ratio of 10.52.
• The company announced a quarterly dividend of $1.86, which results in an annualized dividend yield of 3.7% and maintains a payout ratio of 38.63%.

Empowered Funds LLC lifted its stake in Nexstar Media Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:NXST - Free Report) by 158.7% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 66,156 shares of the company's stock after acquiring an additional 40,581 shares during the period. Empowered Funds LLC owned 0.22% of Nexstar Media Group worth $11,856,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in 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 worth $240,481,000 after acquiring an additional 10,544 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its holdings 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 worth $203,964,000 after purchasing an additional 35,938 shares in the last quarter. Demars Financial Group LLC raised its holdings 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 worth $157,580,000 after purchasing an additional 105,516 shares in the last quarter. Fuller & Thaler Asset Management Inc. raised its holdings 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 worth $144,110,000 after purchasing an additional 195,574 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Northern Trust Corp raised its holdings 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 worth $89,591,000 after purchasing an additional 36,757 shares in the last quarter. 95.30% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Nexstar Media Group Stock Down 0.3%

Nexstar Media Group stock traded down $0.61 during trading hours on Monday, hitting $206.35. The company had a trading volume of 48,351 shares, compared to its average volume of 414,494. The firm has a market capitalization of $6.26 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.72, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.54 and a beta of 1.04. 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 firm's fifty day moving average is $195.15 and its 200-day moving average is $176.74. Nexstar Media Group, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $141.66 and a fifty-two week 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 for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.95 by $0.11. The firm had revenue of $1.23 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.21 billion. Nexstar Media Group had a net margin of 11.90% and a return on equity of 28.40%. The company's revenue for the quarter was down 3.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $3.54 EPS. On average, research analysts forecast that Nexstar Media Group, Inc. will post 21.62 earnings per share for the current year.

Nexstar Media Group Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 29th. Shareholders 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 of this dividend was Friday, August 15th. Nexstar Media Group's payout ratio is currently 38.63%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

NXST has been the topic of a number of research reports. Guggenheim boosted their target price on shares of Nexstar Media Group from $220.00 to $250.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, August 20th. Benchmark boosted their target price on shares of Nexstar Media Group from $220.00 to $225.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, August 8th. Zacks Research upgraded shares of Nexstar Media Group to a "hold" rating in a report on Friday, August 8th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on shares of Nexstar Media Group from $206.00 to $250.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday, August 8th. Finally, 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. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has given a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $225.00.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, EVP Lee Ann Gliha sold 757 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, June 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $165.25, for a total transaction of $125,094.25. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 12,826 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,119,496.50. This represents a 5.57% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, insider Andrew Alford sold 757 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, June 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $165.25, for a total transaction of $125,094.25. Following the sale, the insider directly 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. Over the last three months, insiders sold 5,209 shares of company stock valued at $860,787. 6.70% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.