Jones Financial Companies Lllp Acquires 394,437 Shares of Nexstar Media Group, Inc. $NXST

Key Points

• Jones Financial Companies Lllp significantly increased its stake in Nexstar Media Group by 394,437 shares, raising their total ownership to 394,987 shares, valued at approximately $70.79 million.
• Nexstar recently reported earnings of $3.06 per share, surpassing analysts' estimates, with a revenue of $1.23 billion for the quarter, though it experienced a 3.2% decline year-over-year.
• The company announced a dividend of $1.86 per share, yielding 3.6%, with a payout ratio of approximately 38.63% as part of its quarterly distributions.

Jones Financial Companies Lllp raised its stake in shares of Nexstar Media Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:NXST - Free Report) by 71,715.8% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 394,987 shares of the company's stock after acquiring an additional 394,437 shares during the quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp owned approximately 1.29% of Nexstar Media Group worth $70,790,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. New Vernon Capital Holdings II LLC acquired a new stake in Nexstar Media Group during the 1st quarter valued at $60,064,000. Victory Capital Management Inc. raised its stake in shares of Nexstar Media Group by 611.5% during the first quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 289,668 shares of the company's stock worth $51,914,000 after buying an additional 248,957 shares during the last quarter. Fuller & Thaler Asset Management Inc. raised its position in shares of Nexstar Media Group by 32.1% during 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. Brown Advisory Inc. lifted its stake in Nexstar Media Group by 58.3% in the first quarter. Brown Advisory Inc. now owns 352,165 shares of the company's stock valued at $63,115,000 after buying an additional 129,647 shares during the period. Finally, Demars Financial Group LLC boosted its stake in Nexstar Media Group by 13.6% during the 1st quarter. Demars Financial Group LLC now owns 879,253 shares of the company's stock worth $157,580,000 after acquiring an additional 105,516 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 95.30% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have issued reports on NXST. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price 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. Barrington Research reaffirmed an "outperform" rating and issued a $225.00 price target on shares of Nexstar Media Group in a research note on Tuesday, August 19th. Guggenheim upped their price target on shares of Nexstar Media Group from $220.00 to $250.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, August 20th. Zacks Research upgraded shares of Nexstar Media Group to a "hold" rating in a report on Friday, August 8th. Finally, Benchmark upped 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. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has given a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Nexstar Media Group has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $225.00.

Nexstar Media Group Stock Down 2.6%

NXST traded down $5.31 during trading hours on Wednesday, hitting $197.36. 388,537 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 359,247. Nexstar Media Group, Inc. has a 1-year low of $141.66 and a 1-year high of $223.36. The stock's 50-day moving average is $193.79 and its two-hundred day moving average is $175.50. The stock has a market cap of $5.98 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.52, a PEG ratio of 1.51 and a beta of 1.04. 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 (NASDAQ:NXST - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 7th. The company reported $3.06 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.95 by $0.11. Nexstar Media Group had a net margin of 11.90% and a return on equity of 28.40%. The firm had revenue of $1.23 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.21 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $3.54 EPS. The company's revenue was down 3.2% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts predict that Nexstar Media Group, Inc. will post 21.62 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Nexstar Media Group Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 29th. Investors of record on Friday, August 15th were issued a dividend of $1.86 per share. This represents a $7.44 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.8%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, August 15th. Nexstar Media Group's dividend payout ratio is presently 38.63%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Nexstar Media Group

In other news, insider Dana Zimmer sold 889 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, June 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $165.25, for a total value of $146,907.25. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 6,201 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,024,715.25. This represents a 12.54% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, EVP Lee Ann Gliha sold 757 shares of the firm'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 transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 12,826 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,119,496.50. This represents a 5.57% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 5,209 shares of company stock valued at $860,787 in the last ninety days. 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.