Nexstar Media Group (NASDAQ:NXST) Reaches New 1-Year High - What's Next?

Nexstar Media Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:NXST - Get Free Report) shares reached a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Wednesday . The company traded as high as $192.21 and last traded at $191.74, with a volume of 457543 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $184.19.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

NXST has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Benchmark decreased their price objective on shares of Nexstar Media Group from $225.00 to $215.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, May 6th. Barrington Research reissued an "outperform" rating and issued a $200.00 price target on shares of Nexstar Media Group in a report on Tuesday, May 13th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company cut their target price on shares of Nexstar Media Group from $216.00 to $200.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a 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 company. According to MarketBeat, Nexstar Media Group currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $205.71.

Nexstar Media Group Trading Down 0.2%

The stock has a market capitalization of $5.78 billion, a P/E ratio of 9.60, a P/E/G ratio of 1.41 and a beta of 1.04. The company has a quick ratio of 1.74, a current ratio of 1.74 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.86. The stock's 50 day moving average price is $175.06 and its 200-day moving average price is $165.01.

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, beating the consensus estimate of $3.26 by $0.11. The company 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 period in the previous year, the business posted $5.16 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Nexstar Media Group, Inc. will post 21.62 earnings per share for the current year.

Nexstar Media Group Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 2nd. Shareholders of record on Monday, May 19th were issued a dividend of $1.86 per share. This represents a $7.44 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.93%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, May 19th. Nexstar Media Group's dividend payout ratio is presently 37.69%.

Insider Transactions at Nexstar Media Group

In other Nexstar Media Group news, EVP Rachel Morgan sold 329 shares of Nexstar Media Group stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, June 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $165.25, for a total transaction of $54,367.25. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 2,122 shares in the company, valued at approximately $350,660.50. The trade was a 13.42% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Blake Russell sold 507 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, June 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $165.25, for a total transaction of $83,781.75. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 24,826 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,102,496.50. This trade represents a 2.00% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 21,474 shares of company stock valued at $3,666,988 over the last three months. 6.70% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Nexstar Media Group

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Proficio Capital Partners LLC bought a new stake in Nexstar Media Group in the 4th quarter valued at $225,000. Corient Private Wealth LLC bought a new position in shares of Nexstar Media Group in the 4th quarter valued at $731,000. Teacher Retirement System of Texas increased its stake in shares of Nexstar Media Group by 116.7% in the 4th quarter. Teacher Retirement System of Texas now owns 16,604 shares of the company's stock valued at $2,623,000 after purchasing an additional 8,943 shares during the last quarter. Sei Investments Co. increased its stake in shares of Nexstar Media Group by 2.2% in the 4th quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 40,138 shares of the company's stock valued at $6,341,000 after purchasing an additional 859 shares during the last quarter. Finally, KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS bought a new position in shares of Nexstar Media Group in the 4th quarter valued at $1,264,000. 95.30% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.