Retirement Systems of Alabama Acquires 57,934 Shares of Nexstar Media Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:NXST)

Retirement Systems of Alabama boosted its position in Nexstar Media Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:NXST - Free Report) by 163.4% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 93,391 shares of the company's stock after buying an additional 57,934 shares during the quarter. Retirement Systems of Alabama owned approximately 0.31% of Nexstar Media Group worth $16,738,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. bought a new position in shares of Nexstar Media Group during the 4th quarter worth approximately $25,000. Whipplewood Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of Nexstar Media Group by 830.3% in the first quarter. Whipplewood Advisors LLC now owns 307 shares of the company's stock worth $55,000 after purchasing an additional 274 shares in the last quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc boosted its holdings in Nexstar Media Group by 2,126.3% during the first quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 423 shares of the company's stock worth $76,000 after purchasing an additional 404 shares during the last quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp grew its position in Nexstar Media Group by 15.3% in the fourth quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 550 shares of the company's stock valued at $87,000 after purchasing an additional 73 shares in the last quarter. Finally, UMB Bank n.a. grew its position in Nexstar Media Group by 68.6% in the first quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 536 shares of the company's stock valued at $96,000 after purchasing an additional 218 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 95.30% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages have commented on NXST. Guggenheim boosted their price target on shares of Nexstar Media Group from $210.00 to $220.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, February 28th. Barrington Research reaffirmed an "outperform" rating and issued a $200.00 target price on shares of Nexstar Media Group in a research report on Tuesday, May 13th. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price target on Nexstar Media Group from $216.00 to $200.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. Loop Capital upgraded Nexstar Media Group from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and raised their price target for the company from $190.00 to $200.00 in a research note on Friday, February 28th. Finally, Benchmark lowered their price target on Nexstar Media Group from $225.00 to $215.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, May 6th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $205.71.

Nexstar Media Group Stock Performance

Shares of NXST stock traded down $5.42 on Wednesday, reaching $170.79. The stock had a trading volume of 299,073 shares, compared to its average volume of 377,302. Nexstar Media Group, Inc. has a 12 month low of $141.66 and a 12 month high of $191.86. The firm has a market capitalization of $5.21 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.65, a P/E/G ratio of 1.29 and a beta of 1.05. The firm's 50-day moving average is $164.13 and its two-hundred day moving average is $162.02. The company has a quick ratio of 1.74, a current ratio of 1.74 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.86.

Nexstar Media Group (NASDAQ:NXST - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 8th. The company reported $3.37 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $3.26 by $0.11. Nexstar Media Group had a return on equity of 29.21% and a net margin of 12.21%. The firm had revenue of $1.23 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.23 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $5.16 earnings per share. The business's revenue was down 3.9% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts expect that Nexstar Media Group, Inc. will post 21.62 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Nexstar Media Group Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 2nd. Investors of record on Monday, May 19th were issued a dividend of $1.86 per share. This represents a $7.44 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.36%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, May 19th. Nexstar Media Group's payout ratio is presently 37.69%.

Insider Activity at Nexstar Media Group

In other Nexstar Media Group news, insider Gary Weitman sold 424 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $175.53, for a total transaction of $74,424.72. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 5,301 shares in the company, valued at $930,484.53. This trade represents a 7.41% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, insider Sean Compton sold 1,088 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $175.53, for a total value of $190,976.64. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 12,096 shares in the company, valued at $2,123,210.88. The trade was a 8.25% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 21,474 shares of company stock worth $3,666,988. Company insiders own 6.70% of the company's stock.

About Nexstar Media Group

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.