Pacer Advisors Inc. Decreases Stock Holdings in Nexstar Media Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:NXST)

Key Points

• Pacer Advisors Inc. significantly reduced its stake in Nexstar Media Group by 68.9%, now owning approximately 1.23% of the company, valued at $67.18 million after selling over 832,000 shares in the first quarter.
• Other institutional investors, including Dimensional Fund Advisors and Brown Advisory Inc., have increased their stakes, with total institutional ownership now at 95.30%.
• Nexstar Media Group reported $1.23 billion in quarterly revenue, down 3.9% year-over-year, but beat earnings estimates with an EPS of $3.37.

Pacer Advisors Inc. decreased its stake in shares of Nexstar Media Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:NXST - Free Report) by 68.9% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 374,860 shares of the company's stock after selling 832,017 shares during the period. Pacer Advisors Inc. owned 1.23% of Nexstar Media Group worth $67,182,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of NXST. Demars Financial Group LLC grew its holdings in Nexstar Media Group by 16,009.5% in the 4th quarter. Demars Financial Group LLC now owns 773,737 shares of the company's stock valued at $122,227,000 after buying an additional 768,934 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new position in Nexstar Media Group during the fourth quarter worth about $44,460,000. Victory Capital Management Inc. boosted its holdings in Nexstar Media Group by 611.5% in 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 during the period. Invesco Ltd. grew its position in shares of Nexstar Media Group by 185.0% during the 4th quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 219,561 shares of the company's stock worth $34,684,000 after purchasing an additional 142,520 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Brown Advisory Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Nexstar Media Group by 58.3% during 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 period. 95.30% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts recently issued reports on the company. Barrington Research reiterated an "outperform" rating and issued a $200.00 price target on shares of Nexstar Media Group in a research note on Wednesday. Benchmark dropped their price target 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. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company decreased their target price on Nexstar Media Group from $216.00 to $200.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Nexstar Media Group currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $205.71.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, insider Dana Zimmer sold 1,151 shares of Nexstar Media Group stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $175.53, for a total value of $202,035.03. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 3,141 shares in the company, valued at approximately $551,339.73. This trade represents a 26.82% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, insider Sean Compton sold 1,088 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $175.53, for a total value of $190,976.64. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 12,096 shares of the company's stock, 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. Over 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 company insiders.

Nexstar Media Group Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:NXST traded up $0.82 during midday trading on Wednesday, reaching $190.60. The company had a trading volume of 52,505 shares, compared to its average volume of 420,720. Nexstar Media Group, Inc. has a 52-week low of $141.66 and a 52-week high of $192.36. The company's 50 day moving average price is $175.67 and its 200 day moving average price is $165.60. 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 market cap of $5.82 billion, a P/E ratio of 9.66, a P/E/G ratio of 1.41 and a beta of 1.04.

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 for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $3.26 by $0.11. The business had revenue of $1.23 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.23 billion. Nexstar Media Group had a net margin of 12.21% and a return on equity of 29.21%. Nexstar Media Group's revenue was down 3.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $5.16 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Nexstar Media Group, Inc. will post 21.62 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Nexstar Media Group Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 2nd. Investors of record on Monday, May 19th were paid a $1.86 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, May 19th. This represents a $7.44 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.90%. Nexstar Media Group's payout ratio is presently 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.