Nexstar Media Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:NXST) Receives Consensus Recommendation of "Moderate Buy" from Brokerages

Key Points

• Nexstar Media Group, Inc. has received an average rating of "Moderate Buy" from seven brokerages, with six analysts assigning buy ratings and one a hold rating.
• The average twelve-month target price for Nexstar shares among analysts is $225.00, with recent upgrades from Wells Fargo and Guggenheim elevating their targets to as high as $250.00.
• The company recently declared a quarterly dividend of $1.86 per share, representing an annualized yield of 3.7% and a payout ratio of 38.63%.

Shares of Nexstar Media Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:NXST - Get Free Report) have received an average recommendation of "Moderate Buy" from the seven research firms that are currently covering the stock, Marketbeat Ratings reports. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company. The average 1 year target price among brokers that have covered the stock in the last year is $225.00.

NXST has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Guggenheim increased their price target on shares of Nexstar Media Group from $220.00 to $250.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, August 20th. Benchmark upped their target price on shares of Nexstar Media Group from $220.00 to $225.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, August 8th. Barrington Research reaffirmed an "outperform" rating and issued a $225.00 target price on shares of Nexstar Media Group in a research note on Tuesday, August 19th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on shares of Nexstar Media Group from $206.00 to $250.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday, August 8th. Finally, Zacks Research upgraded shares of Nexstar Media Group to a "hold" rating in a report on Friday, August 8th.

Insider Buying and Selling at Nexstar Media Group

In other Nexstar Media Group news, insider Brett Jenkins sold 610 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, June 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $165.25, for a total transaction of $100,802.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 25,616 shares of the company's stock, valued at $4,233,044. This represents a 2.33% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, EVP Lee Ann Gliha sold 757 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, June 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $165.25, for a total value of $125,094.25. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 12,826 shares in the company, valued at $2,119,496.50. This trade represents a 5.57% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 5,209 shares of company stock worth $860,787 over the last quarter. Company insiders own 6.70% of the company's stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. IFP Advisors Inc boosted its stake in shares of Nexstar Media Group by 375.0% during the 2nd quarter. IFP Advisors Inc now owns 152 shares of the company's stock valued at $26,000 after purchasing an additional 120 shares in the last quarter. Allworth Financial LP raised its stake in Nexstar Media Group by 617.2% in the second quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 208 shares of the company's stock worth $36,000 after buying an additional 179 shares in the last quarter. LRI Investments LLC purchased a new stake in Nexstar Media Group in the second quarter worth about $43,000. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust lifted its holdings in Nexstar Media Group by 70.6% in the second quarter. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust now owns 273 shares of the company's stock worth $47,000 after buying an additional 113 shares during the period. Finally, State of Wyoming bought a new stake in Nexstar Media Group during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $54,000. 95.30% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Nexstar Media Group Stock Performance

NXST traded up $0.87 on Wednesday, hitting $206.66. The company's stock had a trading volume of 201,273 shares, compared to its average volume of 420,397. The company's 50 day simple moving average is $191.19 and its 200-day simple moving average is $173.88. The company has a quick ratio of 1.69, a current ratio of 1.69 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.80. Nexstar Media Group has a 12 month low of $141.66 and a 12 month high of $223.36. The firm has a market cap of $6.27 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.73, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.52 and a beta of 1.04.

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

Nexstar Media Group Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 29th. Investors of record on Friday, August 15th were issued a dividend of $1.86 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, August 15th. This represents a $7.44 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.6%. Nexstar Media Group's dividend payout ratio is currently 38.63%.

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.