Nexstar Media Group (NASDAQ:NXST) Stock Price Up 4.4% - Still a Buy?

Key Points

• Nexstar shares rose 4.4% to about $172.15 in mid-day trading, although trading volume was 88% below the average session volume.
• Analyst sentiment remains mixed but leans positive: six analysts rate the stock a Buy, compared with one Hold and one Sell, producing a “Moderate Buy” consensus and an average price target of $256.50.
• The company reported quarterly revenue of $1.99 billion, up 62.2% year over year, but earnings per share of $3.61 fell well short of the $5.98 consensus estimate. Nexstar also pays a $1.86 quarterly dividend, implying a 4.4% yield, though its 142.8% payout ratio raises sustainability concerns.

Nexstar Media Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:NXST - Get Free Report) shot up 4.4% during mid-day trading on Thursday . The company traded as high as $170.90 and last traded at $172.1510. 47,241 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 88% from the average session volume of 384,067 shares. The stock had previously closed at $164.91.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

NXST has been the topic of several analyst reports. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft dropped their price target on shares of Nexstar Media Group from $255.00 to $240.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, August 10th. Zacks Research cut shares of Nexstar Media Group from a "hold" rating to a "strong sell" rating in a report on Monday, August 10th. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Nexstar Media Group from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Sunday, July 12th. Wells Fargo & Company cut their target price on Nexstar Media Group from $253.00 to $249.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, August 7th. Finally, Weiss Ratings restated a "hold (c)" rating on shares of Nexstar Media Group in a report on Monday, August 24th. Six analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, one has issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $256.50.

Nexstar Media Group Stock Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.09, a current ratio of 1.56 and a quick ratio of 1.56. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $183.67 and a 200 day simple moving average of $194.37. The company has a market cap of $5.19 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 32.43 and a beta of 0.90.

Nexstar Media Group (NASDAQ:NXST - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 6th. The company reported $3.61 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $5.98 by ($2.37). The firm had revenue of $1.99 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.97 billion. Nexstar Media Group had a return on equity of 24.02% and a net margin of 3.20%.Nexstar Media Group's quarterly revenue was up 62.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $3.06 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Nexstar Media Group, Inc. will post 32.88 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Nexstar Media Group Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 28th. Investors of record on Friday, August 14th were issued a $1.86 dividend. This represents a $7.44 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.4%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, August 14th. Nexstar Media Group's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 142.80%.

Insider Activity

In other Nexstar Media Group news, insider Andrew Alford sold 746 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, June 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $170.81, for a total transaction of $127,424.26. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 14,549 shares in the company, valued at $2,485,114.69. This represents a 4.88% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. Also, insider Dana Zimmer sold 4,008 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $187.46, for a total value of $751,339.68. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 1,792 shares in the company, valued at approximately $335,928.32. This represents a 69.10% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 11,945 shares of company stock worth $2,153,687. Insiders own 7.00% of the company's stock.

Institutional Trading of Nexstar Media Group

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. California State Teachers Retirement System increased its position in Nexstar Media Group by 17,529.4% in the 2nd quarter. California State Teachers Retirement System now owns 5,924,366 shares of the company's stock worth $1,058,033,000 after buying an additional 5,890,761 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its stake in shares of Nexstar Media Group by 0.8% in the fourth quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,402,272 shares of the company's stock worth $284,738,000 after acquiring an additional 10,949 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its stake in shares of Nexstar Media Group by 2.0% in the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,181,727 shares of the company's stock worth $239,950,000 after acquiring an additional 23,360 shares during the last quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. increased its position in Nexstar Media Group by 27.1% during the second quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. now owns 882,322 shares of the company's stock worth $152,598,000 after acquiring an additional 187,864 shares during the period. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC increased its position in Nexstar Media Group by 1.7% during the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 773,443 shares of the company's stock worth $157,114,000 after acquiring an additional 13,084 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 95.30% of the company's stock.

Nexstar Media Group Company Profile

Nexstar Media Group, Inc is a diversified American media company engaged primarily in the ownership, operation and strategic affiliation of local television stations, digital platforms and cable networks. The company provides a range of broadcast content, including local news, sports coverage, entertainment programming and syndicated shows, reaching audiences in more than 100 television markets across the United States.

Founded in 1996 by entrepreneur Perry Sook and headquartered in Irving, Texas, Nexstar has built its presence through organic growth and a series of high-profile acquisitions.

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