Nexstar Media Group (NXST) Stock Price, News & Analysis

Company Overview

Nexstar Media Group, Inc. is a diversified American media company that owns and operates local television stations and digital media platforms across the United States. Its stations provide locally produced news, weather, sports and community programming, while also carrying programming from major broadcast networks, including ABC, CBS, NBC, FOX and The CW, depending on the market.

The company also operates NewsNation, a national cable news and information network, and develops digital content and advertising solutions through its online properties. Nexstar’s media portfolio is designed to serve local audiences through broadcast, streaming and digital platforms, with programming that includes news, entertainment and syndicated content.

Nexstar was founded in 1996 by Perry Sook, who remains the company’s chairman and chief executive officer. The company expanded significantly through acquisitions, including its 2019 purchase of Tribune Media, which added a broad group of television stations and media assets. In 2022, Nexstar became the majority owner of The CW Network, broadening its involvement in national entertainment programming and digital distribution.

Key Stats

• Today's Range: $169.54 to $173.41
• 50-Day Range: $164.91 to $196.94
• 52-Week Range: $154.47 to $254.30
• Volume: 154,733 shs
• Average Volume: 384,739 shs
• Market Capitalization: $5.27 billion
• P/E Ratio: 32.84
• Dividend Yield: 4.35%
• Price Target: $256.50
• Consensus Rating: Moderate Buy

Nexstar Media Group Stock Analysis - MarketRank™

Nexstar Media Group scored higher than 97% of companies evaluated by MarketBeat, and ranked 3rd out of 246 stocks in the communication services sector. Scores are calculated by averaging available category scores, with extra weight given to analysis and valuation.

Analyst's Opinion

• Score: 4.1 / 5
• Analyst Rating: Moderate Buy

Consensus Rating

Nexstar Media Group has received a consensus rating of Moderate Buy. The company's average rating score is 2.63, and is based on no strong buy ratings, 6 buy ratings, 1 hold rating, and 1 sell rating.

Upside Potential

Nexstar Media Group has a consensus price target of $256.50, representing about 49.9% upside from its current price of $171.12.

Amount of Analyst Coverage

Nexstar Media Group has only been the subject of 4 research reports in the past 90 days.

Earnings and Valuation

• Score: 0.6 / 5
• Proj. Earnings Growth: -43.43%

Earnings Growth

Earnings for Nexstar Media Group are expected to decrease by -43.43% in the coming year, from $32.88 to $18.60 per share.

Price to Earnings Ratio vs. the Market

The P/E ratio of Nexstar Media Group is 32.84, which means that it is trading at a less expensive P/E ratio than the market average P/E ratio of about 39.13.

Price to Earnings Ratio vs. Sector

The P/E ratio of Nexstar Media Group is 32.84, which means that it is trading at a more expensive P/E ratio than the Communication Services sector average P/E ratio of about 23.87.

Price to Book Value per Share Ratio

Nexstar Media Group has a P/B Ratio of 2.54. P/B Ratios below 3 indicates that a company is reasonably valued with respect to its assets and liabilities.

Short Interest

• Score: 3.0 / 5
• Short Interest Level: Healthy

Percentage of Shares Shorted

7.72% of the float of Nexstar Media Group has been sold short.

Short Interest Ratio / Days to Cover

Nexstar Media Group has a short interest ratio ("days to cover") of 6.94.

Change versus previous month

Short interest in Nexstar Media Group has recently decreased by 14.79%, indicating that investor sentiment is improving significantly.

Dividend

• Score: 4.2 / 5
• Dividend Strength: Strong

Dividend Leadership

Nexstar Media Group is a leading dividend payer. It pays a dividend yield of 4.40%, putting its dividend yield in the top 25% of dividend-paying stocks.

Dividend Growth

Nexstar Media Group has been increasing its dividend for 12 years.

Dividend Coverage

The dividend payout ratio of Nexstar Media Group is 142.80%. Payout ratios above 75% are not desirable because they may not be sustainable.

Dividend Sustainability

Based on earnings estimates, Nexstar Media Group will have a dividend payout ratio of 40.00% next year. This indicates that Nexstar Media Group will be able to sustain or increase its dividend.

News and Social Media

• Score: 4.4 / 5
• News Sentiment: 1.02

News Sentiment

Nexstar Media Group has a news sentiment score of 1.02. This score is calculated as an average of sentiment of articles about the company over the last seven days and ranges from 2 (good news) to -2 (bad news). This is a higher news sentiment than the 0.73 average news sentiment score of Communication Services companies.

News Coverage This Week

MarketBeat has tracked 11 news articles for Nexstar Media Group this week, compared to 5 articles on an average week.

Search Interest

6 people have searched for NXST on MarketBeat in the last 30 days. This is an increase of 50% compared to the previous 30 days.

MarketBeat Follows

5 people have added Nexstar Media Group to their MarketBeat watchlist in the last 30 days. This is an increase of 400% compared to the previous 30 days.

Company Ownership

• Score: 3.1 / 5
• Insider Trading: Acquiring Shares

Net Insider Buying

Over the last three months, insiders have purchased a net $79,117.00 in company stock, which represents 0.0015% of the company's market cap.

Insider Buying vs. Insider Selling

In the past three months, Nexstar Media Group insiders have bought 4.15% more of their company's stock than they have sold. Specifically, they have bought $1,985,251.00 in company stock and sold $1,906,134.00 in company stock.

Percentage Held by Insiders

7.00% of the stock of Nexstar Media Group is held by insiders.

Percentage Held by Institutions

95.30% of the stock of Nexstar Media Group is held by institutions. High institutional ownership can be a signal of strong market trust in this company.

Company Calendar

• Last Earnings: 8/06/2026
• Record date for 8/28 Dividend: 8/14/2026
• Ex-Dividend for 8/28 Dividend: 8/14/2026
• Dividend Payable: 8/28/2026
• Today: 9/14/2026
• Next Earnings (Estimated): 11/05/2026
• Fiscal Year End: 12/31/2026

Industry, Sector and Symbol

• Stock Exchange: NASDAQ
• Sector: Communication Services
• Industry: Media
• Sub-Industry: Broadcasting
• Current Symbol: NASDAQ:NXST
• CIK: 1142417
• Web: www.nexstar.tv
• Phone: (972) 373-8800
• Fax: 972-373-8888
• Employees: 12,832
• Year Founded: 1996

Price Target and Rating

• Average Price Target for Nexstar Media Group: $256.50
• High Price Target: $290.00
• Low Price Target: $220.00
• Potential Upside/Downside: +49.9%
• Consensus Rating: Moderate Buy
• Rating Score (0-4): 2.63
• Research Coverage: 8 Analysts

Profitability

• EPS (Trailing Twelve Months): $5.21
• Trailing P/E Ratio: 32.84
• Forward P/E Ratio: 5.20
• P/E Growth: N/A
• Net Income: $109 million
• Net Margins: 3.20%
• Pretax Margin: 3.61%
• Return on Equity: 24.02%
• Return on Assets: 3.61%

Debt

• Debt-to-Equity Ratio: 5.09
• Current Ratio: 1.56
• Quick Ratio: 1.56

Sales & Book Value

• Annual Sales: $5.88 billion
• Price / Sales: 0.90
• Cash Flow: $40.65 per share
• Price / Cash Flow: 4.21
• Book Value: $67.37 per share
• Price / Book: 2.54

Miscellaneous

• Outstanding Shares: 30,808,000
• Free Float: 28,651,000
• Market Cap: $5.27 billion
• Optionable: Optionable
• Beta: 0.90