Louisiana State Employees Retirement System Buys New Shares in Nexstar Media Group, Inc. $NXST

Key Points

• Louisiana State Employees Retirement System opened a new position in Nexstar Media Group, buying 8,300 shares valued at about $1.5 million in the first quarter.
• Nexstar remains heavily owned by institutions, with large investors like Dimensional Fund Advisors and Charles Schwab also increasing their stakes; institutional and hedge fund ownership totals about 95.3%.
• The company recently paid a $1.86 quarterly dividend and has received mostly positive analyst commentary, with a consensus Buy rating and an average price target of $259.67.

Louisiana State Employees Retirement System purchased a new stake in shares of Nexstar Media Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:NXST - Free Report) during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor purchased 8,300 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,501,000.

Other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its stake in shares of Nexstar Media Group by 0.8% in the 4th quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,402,272 shares of the company's stock valued at $284,738,000 after purchasing an additional 10,949 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its stake in shares of Nexstar Media Group by 2.0% during the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,181,727 shares of the company's stock worth $239,950,000 after purchasing an additional 23,360 shares during the period. Alliancebernstein L.P. grew its position in Nexstar Media Group by 27.1% during the second quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. now owns 882,322 shares of the company's stock valued at $152,598,000 after buying an additional 187,864 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its position in Nexstar Media Group by 1.7% during the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 773,443 shares of the company's stock valued at $157,114,000 after buying an additional 13,084 shares during the period. Finally, Janus Henderson Group PLC increased its holdings in Nexstar Media Group by 6.8% during the fourth quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 632,387 shares of the company's stock worth $128,408,000 after buying an additional 40,177 shares during the last quarter. 95.30% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Nexstar Media Group Trading Down 0.2%

Shares of NXST opened at $181.09 on Friday. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $185.17 and a 200-day moving average price of $204.76. Nexstar Media Group, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $154.47 and a fifty-two week high of $254.30. The firm has a market cap of $5.53 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 38.86, a PEG ratio of 0.46 and a beta of 0.91. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.53, a quick ratio of 1.76 and a current ratio of 1.76.

Nexstar Media Group Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 29th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 15th were paid a $1.86 dividend. This represents a $7.44 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.1%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, May 15th. Nexstar Media Group's payout ratio is 159.66%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

NXST has been the topic of several research reports. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Nexstar Media Group from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Saturday, May 16th. Zacks Research raised shares of Nexstar Media Group from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 13th. Benchmark decreased their price target on shares of Nexstar Media Group from $300.00 to $250.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, April 6th. Citigroup upgraded Nexstar Media Group from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and dropped their price objective for the company from $252.00 to $220.00 in a research note on Friday, April 10th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft decreased their target price on Nexstar Media Group from $270.00 to $255.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, May 11th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have given a Buy rating and one has issued a Hold rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Buy" and an average target price of $259.67.

Insider Activity at Nexstar Media Group

In other Nexstar Media Group news, EVP Blake Russell sold 261 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, June 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $170.81, for a total transaction of $44,581.41. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 28,296 shares of the company's stock, valued at $4,833,239.76. This represents a 0.91% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. Also, CEO Perry A. Sook bought 12,235 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, June 26th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $162.26 per share, for a total transaction of $1,985,251.10. Following the completion of the purchase, the chief executive officer directly owned 899,044 shares of the company's stock, valued at $145,878,879.44. The trade was a 1.38% increase in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this purchase are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders sold a total of 22,813 shares of company stock worth $4,174,731 over the last ninety days. Insiders own 7.00% of the company's stock.

Nexstar Media Group Company Profile

Nexstar Media Group, Inc is a diversified American media company engaged primarily in the ownership, operation and strategic affiliation of local television stations, digital platforms and cable networks. The company provides a range of broadcast content, including local news, sports coverage, entertainment programming and syndicated shows, reaching audiences in more than 100 television markets across the United States.

Founded in 1996 by entrepreneur Perry Sook and headquartered in Irving, Texas, Nexstar has built its presence through organic growth and a series of high-profile acquisitions.

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