Nexstar Media Group (NASDAQ:NXST) Stock Price Expected to Rise, Benchmark Analyst Says

Key Points

• Benchmark analyst has increased Nexstar Media Group's target price from $220.00 to $225.00, indicating a potential upside of 21.47% from its previous close.
• The company reported $3.06 earnings per share for the latest quarter, surpassing expectations and experiencing a 3.2% decline in revenue year-over-year.
• Nexstar Media Group's stock has a PE ratio of 9.38 and has seen insider selling activity, with insiders selling over 21,000 shares recently.

Nexstar Media Group (NASDAQ:NXST - Get Free Report) had its target price lifted by equities research analysts at Benchmark from $220.00 to $225.00 in a report issued on Friday,Benzinga reports. The firm presently has a "buy" rating on the stock. Benchmark's price target indicates a potential upside of 21.47% from the company's previous close.

A number of other equities analysts have also recently issued reports on the stock. Barrington Research reissued an "outperform" rating and issued a $200.00 target price on shares of Nexstar Media Group in a report on Wednesday, July 30th. 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 investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $207.14.

Nexstar Media Group Stock Up 0.4%

Shares of Nexstar Media Group stock traded up $0.69 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $185.22. 60,685 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 414,701. The company has a market cap of $5.65 billion, a PE ratio of 9.38, a PEG ratio of 1.34 and a beta of 1.05. Nexstar Media Group has a twelve month low of $141.66 and a twelve month high of $194.00. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $178.01 and a 200-day simple moving average of $167.33. The company has a quick ratio of 1.74, a current ratio of 1.74 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.86.

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, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $2.95 by $0.11. Nexstar Media Group had a net margin of 12.21% and a return on equity of 29.21%. The firm had revenue of $1.23 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.21 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $3.54 earnings per share. Nexstar Media Group's revenue was down 3.2% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts anticipate that Nexstar Media Group will post 21.62 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at Nexstar Media Group

In other news, insider Dana Zimmer sold 1,151 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $175.53, for a total transaction of $202,035.03. Following the transaction, the insider owned 3,141 shares in the company, valued at approximately $551,339.73. The trade was a 26.82% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, insider Sean Compton sold 1,088 shares of the company's 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 directly owned 12,096 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,123,210.88. The trade was a 8.25% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 21,474 shares of company stock worth $3,666,988. 6.70% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Nexstar Media Group

Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in NXST. LPL Financial LLC increased its position in shares of Nexstar Media Group by 9.8% during the fourth quarter. LPL Financial LLC now owns 20,506 shares of the company's stock worth $3,166,000 after acquiring an additional 1,828 shares in the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP bought a new position in Nexstar Media Group in the fourth quarter valued at $2,370,000. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. grew its position in Nexstar Media Group by 0.8% in the fourth quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 78,708 shares of the company's stock valued at $12,434,000 after purchasing an additional 645 shares in the last quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. grew its position in Nexstar Media Group by 0.7% in the fourth quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 55,573 shares of the company's stock valued at $8,779,000 after purchasing an additional 370 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Invesco Ltd. grew its position in Nexstar Media Group by 185.0% in the fourth quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 219,561 shares of the company's stock valued at $34,684,000 after purchasing an additional 142,520 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 95.30% of the company's stock.

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.

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