Nexstar Media Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:NXST) Shares Sold by LSV Asset Management

Key Points

• LSV Asset Management reduced its stake in Nexstar Media Group by 0.9%, holding approximately 1.22 million shares valued at $219 million after selling 10,725 shares in the first quarter.
• Nexstar's quarterly earnings exceeded analysts' expectations, reporting $3.37 earnings per share compared to an estimate of $3.26, while the company's revenue declined by 3.9% year-over-year.
• The company declared a quarterly dividend of $1.86 per share, representing a 4.0% annual yield, with a payout ratio of 37.69%.

LSV Asset Management trimmed its holdings in shares of Nexstar Media Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:NXST - Free Report) by 0.9% in the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 1,222,781 shares of the company's stock after selling 10,725 shares during the quarter. LSV Asset Management owned 4.01% of Nexstar Media Group worth $219,147,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of NXST. Whipplewood Advisors LLC lifted its stake in Nexstar Media Group by 830.3% during the first quarter. Whipplewood Advisors LLC now owns 307 shares of the company's stock worth $55,000 after purchasing an additional 274 shares during the last quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc. lifted its stake in Nexstar Media Group by 62.3% in the first quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc. now owns 401 shares of the company's stock valued at $72,000 after buying an additional 154 shares during the last quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc lifted its stake in Nexstar Media Group by 2,126.3% in the first quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 423 shares of the company's stock valued at $76,000 after buying an additional 404 shares during the last quarter. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. lifted its stake in Nexstar Media Group by 186.7% in the first quarter. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. now owns 453 shares of the company's stock valued at $81,000 after buying an additional 295 shares during the last quarter. Finally, UMB Bank n.a. lifted its stake 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 buying an additional 218 shares during the last quarter. 95.30% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have weighed in on NXST. Benchmark reduced their price objective on Nexstar Media Group from $225.00 to $215.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, May 6th. Barrington Research reaffirmed an "outperform" rating and set a $200.00 price objective on shares of Nexstar Media Group in a report on Wednesday, July 30th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price objective on Nexstar Media Group from $216.00 to $200.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, May 1st. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $205.71.

Insider Transactions at Nexstar Media Group

In other Nexstar Media Group news, insider Dana Zimmer sold 1,151 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $175.53, for a total transaction of $202,035.03. Following the transaction, the insider owned 3,141 shares of the company's stock, valued at $551,339.73. This trade represents a 26.82% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, EVP Lee Ann Gliha sold 1,437 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $173.59, for a total value of $249,448.83. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 10,923 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,896,123.57. This trade represents a 11.63% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 21,474 shares of company stock worth $3,666,988. 6.70% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Nexstar Media Group Trading Down 1.3%

NASDAQ:NXST traded down $2.39 on Wednesday, hitting $184.84. 110,059 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 414,966. The stock has a market cap of $5.64 billion, a PE ratio of 9.36, a PEG ratio of 1.35 and a beta of 1.05. The company has a current ratio of 1.74, a quick ratio of 1.74 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.86. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $177.44 and a 200-day moving average of $166.97. Nexstar Media Group, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $141.66 and a fifty-two week high of $192.36.

Nexstar Media Group (NASDAQ:NXST - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, May 8th. The company reported $3.37 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating 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 business had revenue of $1.23 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.23 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $5.16 earnings per share. The company's revenue for the quarter was down 3.9% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts expect that Nexstar Media Group, Inc. will post 21.62 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Nexstar Media Group Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 29th. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 15th will be issued a dividend of $1.86 per share. This represents a $7.44 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.0%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, August 15th. Nexstar Media Group's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 37.69%.

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.