Nexstar Media Group - NXST Stock Forecast, Price & News

Nexstar Media Group, Inc., a television broadcasting and digital media company, focuses on the acquisition, development, and operation of television stations and interactive community websites and digital media services in the United States. The company offers free programming to television viewing audiences. As of December 31, 2020, it provided sales, programming, and other services through various local service agreements to 37 power television stations owned by independent third parties; and owned, operated, programmed, or provided sales and other services to 198 television stations. The company also offers video and display advertising platforms that are delivered locally or nationally through its own and various third party websites and mobile applications, as well as owns WGN America, a national general entertainment cable network. Its stations are affiliates of ABC, NBC, FOX, CBS, The CW, MyNetworkTV, and other broadcast television networks. The company was formerly known as Nexstar Broadcasting Group, Inc. and changed its name to Nexstar Media Group, Inc. in January 2017. Nexstar Media Group, Inc. was founded in 1996 and is headquartered in Irving, Texas.

Nexstar Media Group Stock Performance

NASDAQ:NXST traded up $1.81 during mid-day trading on Monday, hitting $195.84. 263,573 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 365,188. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $172.71 and a two-hundred day moving average of $173.79. Nexstar Media Group has a 12 month low of $138.80 and a 12 month high of $197.22. The firm has a market capitalization of $7.91 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.97, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.74 and a beta of 1.50. The company has a current ratio of 2.02, a quick ratio of 2.02 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.47.

Nexstar Media Group (NASDAQ:NXST - Get Rating) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, August 4th. The company reported $5.56 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $5.46 by $0.10. Nexstar Media Group had a return on equity of 32.55% and a net margin of 18.79%. The firm had revenue of $1.25 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.23 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $4.51 EPS. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 10.0% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts forecast that Nexstar Media Group will post 26.4 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Nexstar Media Group Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, August 25th. Investors of record on Thursday, August 11th will be paid a dividend of $0.90 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, August 10th. This represents a $3.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.84%. Nexstar Media Group's payout ratio is 16.64%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms recently weighed in on NXST. Rosenblatt Securities upped their price target on Nexstar Media Group to $181.00 and gave the company a "na" rating in a research report on Monday, May 16th. Guggenheim upped their target price on Nexstar Media Group from $210.00 to $220.00 in a research report on Wednesday, May 11th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upped their target price on Nexstar Media Group from $216.00 to $225.00 in a research report on Thursday, May 12th. Finally, StockNews.com raised Nexstar Media Group from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, May 12th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Buy" and a consensus target price of $210.57.

Insider Activity at Nexstar Media Group

In related news, insider Dana Zimmer sold 1,191 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $173.86, for a total transaction of $207,067.26. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 4,661 shares in the company, valued at approximately $810,361.46. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. In other Nexstar Media Group news, Director Dennis Miller sold 4,989 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, June 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $172.33, for a total value of $859,754.37. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 1,625 shares in the company, valued at approximately $280,036.25. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, insider Dana Zimmer sold 1,191 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $173.86, for a total value of $207,067.26. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 4,661 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $810,361.46. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 12,960 shares of company stock worth $2,233,523 in the last 90 days. 5.00% of the stock is owned by company insiders.