Nexstar Media Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:NXST) Receives $206.00 Average PT from Analysts

Nexstar Media Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:NXST - Get Free Report) has been given a consensus rating of "Buy" by the seven ratings firms that are covering the company, MarketBeat Ratings reports. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold recommendation, five have given a buy recommendation and one has given a strong buy recommendation to the company. The average 1-year price objective among brokerages that have covered the stock in the last year is $206.00.

A number of brokerages recently commented on NXST. Wells Fargo & Company upgraded Nexstar Media Group from an "equal weight" rating to an "overweight" rating and lifted their price target for the stock from $190.00 to $221.00 in a report on Monday. Loop Capital upgraded shares of Nexstar Media Group to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Friday, May 10th. TheStreet raised Nexstar Media Group from a "c+" rating to a "b-" rating in a report on Thursday, February 1st. Barrington Research reiterated an "outperform" rating and set a $200.00 price objective on shares of Nexstar Media Group in a research note on Thursday, May 9th. Finally, Rosenblatt Securities reduced their target price on Nexstar Media Group from $216.00 to $213.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, March 13th.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CEO Perry A. Sook sold 31,758 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $158.66, for a total transaction of $5,038,724.28. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 636,788 shares of the company's stock, valued at $101,032,784.08. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. In related news, CEO Perry A. Sook sold 31,758 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $158.66, for a total value of $5,038,724.28. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 636,788 shares in the company, valued at approximately $101,032,784.08. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director Dennis J. Fitzsimons sold 2,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $170.82, for a total value of $341,640.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 12,027 shares in the company, valued at $2,054,452.14. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 46,508 shares of company stock valued at $7,487,950 in the last ninety days. Company insiders own 5.90% of the company's stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Nexstar Media Group

Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Capital Research Global Investors purchased a new position in Nexstar Media Group during the first quarter valued at $92,323,000. Channing Capital Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Nexstar Media Group by 738.8% during the third quarter. Channing Capital Management LLC now owns 506,212 shares of the company's stock valued at $72,576,000 after buying an additional 445,859 shares during the period. Point72 Asset Management L.P. grew its stake in shares of Nexstar Media Group by 392.6% during the fourth quarter. Point72 Asset Management L.P. now owns 450,351 shares of the company's stock valued at $70,593,000 after buying an additional 358,920 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of Nexstar Media Group in the fourth quarter worth approximately $51,812,000. Finally, Boston Financial Mangement LLC raised its holdings in shares of Nexstar Media Group by 156.5% in the third quarter. Boston Financial Mangement LLC now owns 238,670 shares of the company's stock worth $34,218,000 after buying an additional 145,617 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 95.30% of the company's stock.

Nexstar Media Group Stock Down 2.0 %

Shares of NXST stock traded down $3.42 during trading hours on Thursday, reaching $170.54. The company had a trading volume of 344,094 shares, compared to its average volume of 339,260. The company has a market cap of $5.60 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.72, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.65 and a beta of 1.50. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.85, a current ratio of 1.80 and a quick ratio of 1.80. Nexstar Media Group has a 12 month low of $132.30 and a 12 month high of $187.32. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $166.15 and a 200-day simple moving average of $161.79.

Nexstar Media Group (NASDAQ:NXST - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 9th. The company reported $5.16 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $4.28 by $0.88. Nexstar Media Group had a return on equity of 17.18% and a net margin of 8.29%. The business had revenue of $1.28 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.29 billion. During the same period last year, the business earned $2.97 EPS. The business's revenue was up 2.1% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts expect that Nexstar Media Group will post 26.73 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Nexstar Media Group Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 24th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 10th will be paid a $1.69 dividend. This represents a $6.76 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.96%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 9th. Nexstar Media Group's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 57.19%.

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.