Northern Trust Corp Increases Holdings in Nexstar Media Group, Inc. $NXST

Key Points

• Northern Trust Corp increased its stake in Nexstar Media Group by 7.9%, owning 499,896 shares valued at approximately $89.6 million as of the end of the last quarter.
• Nexstar Media Group announced a quarterly dividend of $1.86 per share, with a yield of 3.6%, payable on August 29th to stockholders of record.
• Analysts have a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" for Nexstar Media Group, with target prices ranging from $225 to $250 after recent upgrades.

Northern Trust Corp grew its stake in Nexstar Media Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:NXST - Free Report) by 7.9% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 499,896 shares of the company's stock after buying an additional 36,757 shares during the period. Northern Trust Corp owned 1.64% of Nexstar Media Group worth $89,591,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Victory Capital Management Inc. boosted its position in shares of Nexstar Media Group by 611.5% during the 1st quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 289,668 shares of the company's stock valued at $51,914,000 after purchasing an additional 248,957 shares in the last quarter. Brown Advisory Inc. raised its stake in shares of Nexstar Media Group by 58.3% in the first quarter. Brown Advisory Inc. now owns 352,165 shares of the company's stock worth $63,115,000 after purchasing an additional 129,647 shares during the last quarter. Demars Financial Group LLC raised its stake in shares of Nexstar Media Group by 13.6% in the first 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 during the last quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Nexstar Media Group in the first quarter worth approximately $17,574,000. Finally, Nuveen LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Nexstar Media Group in the first quarter worth approximately $13,202,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 95.30% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity at Nexstar Media Group

In related news, EVP Rachel Morgan sold 329 shares of Nexstar Media Group stock in a transaction on Tuesday, June 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $165.25, for a total transaction of $54,367.25. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 2,122 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $350,660.50. This trade represents a 13.42% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, insider Gary Weitman sold 510 shares of Nexstar Media Group stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, June 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $165.25, for a total value of $84,277.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 8,229 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,359,842.25. This represents a 5.84% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 9,291 shares of company stock valued at $1,543,502 in the last ninety days. 6.70% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

NXST has been the subject of several analyst reports. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on Nexstar Media Group from $206.00 to $250.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday, August 8th. Zacks Research raised Nexstar Media Group to a "hold" rating in a research report on Friday, August 8th. Guggenheim increased their price target on Nexstar Media Group from $220.00 to $250.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 20th. Barrington Research reaffirmed an "outperform" rating and set a $225.00 price target on shares of Nexstar Media Group in a research report on Tuesday, August 19th. Finally, Benchmark increased their price target on Nexstar Media Group from $220.00 to $225.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, August 8th. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has issued a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Nexstar Media Group has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $225.00.

Nexstar Media Group Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ NXST traded up $2.69 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $203.82. The company had a trading volume of 194,576 shares, compared to its average volume of 422,744. The company has a market capitalization of $6.18 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.59, a P/E/G ratio of 1.53 and a beta of 1.05. Nexstar Media Group, Inc. has a 1 year low of $141.66 and a 1 year high of $223.36. The company has a current ratio of 1.69, a quick ratio of 1.69 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.80. The stock's 50-day moving average price is $188.70 and its 200-day moving average price is $172.42.

Nexstar Media Group (NASDAQ:NXST - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results 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 company had revenue of $1.23 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.21 billion. Nexstar Media Group had a return on equity of 28.40% and a net margin of 11.90%.The firm's quarterly revenue was down 3.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $3.54 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Nexstar Media Group, Inc. will post 21.62 earnings per share for the current year.

Nexstar Media Group Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 29th. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 15th will be given a $1.86 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, August 15th. This represents a $7.44 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.7%. Nexstar Media Group's payout ratio is 38.63%.

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.