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

Key Points

• Nexstar Media Group, Inc. has received a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" from analysts, with seven out of eight ratings firms issuing a buy recommendation.
• The firm's average price target among analysts is $225.00, with some firms, like Wells Fargo and Guggenheim, raising their target prices to $250.00.
• Nexstar recently reported $3.06 earnings per share for the last quarter, beating analysts' estimates, alongside a dividend of $1.86 per share representing a yield of 3.8%.

Shares of Nexstar Media Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:NXST - Get Free Report) have received a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" from the eight ratings firms that are presently covering the firm, MarketBeat reports. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating on the company. The average 1 year price objective among brokers that have covered the stock in the last year is $225.00.

A number of analysts have weighed in on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on shares of Nexstar Media Group from $206.00 to $250.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday, August 8th. Benchmark increased their target price on shares of Nexstar Media Group from $220.00 to $225.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, August 8th. Barrington Research reaffirmed an "outperform" rating and issued a $225.00 price objective on shares of Nexstar Media Group in a report on Tuesday, August 19th. Guggenheim increased their target price on shares of Nexstar Media Group from $220.00 to $250.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 20th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a "buy (b)" rating on shares of Nexstar Media Group in a research note on Wednesday, October 8th.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Nexstar Media Group

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Caitlin John LLC bought a new position in Nexstar Media Group during the second quarter worth $263,000. Lynx Investment Advisory acquired a new stake in Nexstar Media Group during the first quarter worth $311,000. D.A. Davidson & CO. acquired a new stake in Nexstar Media Group during the first quarter worth $323,000. Wedge Capital Management L L P NC boosted its stake in Nexstar Media Group by 110.7% during the second quarter. Wedge Capital Management L L P NC now owns 29,751 shares of the company's stock worth $5,145,000 after buying an additional 15,628 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Crossmark Global Holdings Inc. acquired a new stake in Nexstar Media Group during the first quarter worth $219,000. Institutional investors own 95.30% of the company's stock.

Nexstar Media Group Stock Performance

Shares of Nexstar Media Group stock opened at $193.99 on Thursday. The firm has a market cap of $5.88 billion, a PE ratio of 10.07, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.46 and a beta of 1.01. The firm's 50-day simple moving average is $201.82 and its 200-day simple moving average is $181.52. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.80, a quick ratio of 1.69 and a current ratio of 1.69. Nexstar Media Group has a 1 year low of $141.66 and a 1 year high of $223.36.

Nexstar Media Group (NASDAQ:NXST - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, August 7th. The company reported $3.06 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $2.95 by $0.11. The business had revenue of $1.23 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.21 billion. Nexstar Media Group had a net margin of 11.90% and a return on equity of 28.40%. The company's revenue for the quarter was down 3.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $3.54 EPS. Equities analysts forecast that Nexstar Media Group will post 21.62 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Nexstar Media Group Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 29th. Investors of record on Friday, August 15th were given a dividend of $1.86 per share. This represents a $7.44 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.8%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, August 15th. Nexstar Media Group's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 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.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest and most accurate reporting. This story was reviewed by MarketBeat's editorial team prior to publication. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.