Nexstar Media Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:NXST) Receives Average Recommendation of "Buy" from Analysts

Nexstar Media Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:NXST - Get Free Report) has been assigned an average rating of "Buy" from the seven analysts that are currently covering the firm, MarketBeat.com reports. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating. The average 12-month price objective among brokerages that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $205.71.

A number of equities analysts have commented on NXST shares. Loop Capital upgraded shares of Nexstar Media Group from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and upped their target price for the stock from $190.00 to $200.00 in a research note on Friday, February 28th. Barrington Research reissued an "outperform" rating and set a $200.00 target price on shares of Nexstar Media Group in a research report on Tuesday, May 13th. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their target price on shares of 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. Wall Street Zen cut shares of Nexstar Media Group from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Monday, March 3rd. Finally, Guggenheim raised their price target on shares of Nexstar Media Group from $210.00 to $220.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, February 28th.

Insider Activity at Nexstar Media Group

In other news, insider Gary Weitman sold 510 shares of Nexstar Media Group stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, June 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $165.25, for a total value of $84,277.50. Following the sale, the insider now owns 8,229 shares in the company, valued at $1,359,842.25. This trade represents a 5.84% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, insider Sean Compton sold 1,088 shares of Nexstar Media Group stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $175.53, for a total transaction of $190,976.64. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 12,096 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,123,210.88. This trade represents a 8.25% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 25,242 shares of company stock worth $4,352,688. 6.70% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Nexstar Media Group

Institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D lifted its stake in shares of Nexstar Media Group by 7.0% in the fourth quarter. State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D now owns 12,837 shares of the company's stock worth $2,028,000 after buying an additional 840 shares in the last quarter. Sanctuary Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Nexstar Media Group in the fourth quarter worth about $809,000. Venturi Wealth Management LLC raised its stake in Nexstar Media Group by 31.0% during the fourth quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC now owns 883 shares of the company's stock worth $139,000 after purchasing an additional 209 shares during the period. Ieq Capital LLC raised its stake in Nexstar Media Group by 63.5% during the fourth quarter. Ieq Capital LLC now owns 2,887 shares of the company's stock worth $456,000 after purchasing an additional 1,121 shares during the period. Finally, Concurrent Investment Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Nexstar Media Group during the fourth quarter worth about $209,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 95.30% of the company's stock.

Nexstar Media Group Trading Up 1.6%

NXST stock traded up $2.81 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $174.60. The company had a trading volume of 348,421 shares, compared to its average volume of 377,455. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.86, a current ratio of 1.74 and a quick ratio of 1.74. The company has a market capitalization of $5.33 billion, a PE ratio of 8.84, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.26 and a beta of 1.05. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $163.66 and a 200 day moving average of $161.92. Nexstar Media Group has a 12 month low of $141.66 and a 12 month high of $191.86.

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

Nexstar Media Group Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 2nd. Investors of record on Monday, May 19th were given a dividend of $1.86 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, May 19th. This represents a $7.44 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.26%. Nexstar Media Group's dividend 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.