Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc. Buys 137 Shares of Nexstar Media Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:NXST)

Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc. grew its stake in Nexstar Media Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:NXST) by 5.8% in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 2,518 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 137 shares during the period. Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc.’s holdings in Nexstar Media Group were worth $398,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the business. BNP Paribas Financial Markets grew its position in Nexstar Media Group by 67.8% during the 3rd quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 26,239 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,339,000 after purchasing an additional 10,603 shares during the last quarter. SGL Investment Advisors Inc. bought a new stake in Nexstar Media Group during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $3,758,000. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its stake in Nexstar Media Group by 0.7% during the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,083,451 shares of the company’s stock worth $179,149,000 after acquiring an additional 7,117 shares during the period. Quest Partners LLC raised its stake in Nexstar Media Group by 661.4% during the 3rd quarter. Quest Partners LLC now owns 8,672 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,434,000 after acquiring an additional 7,533 shares during the period. Finally, Holocene Advisors LP raised its position in shares of Nexstar Media Group by 680.9% during the third quarter. Holocene Advisors LP now owns 17,219 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,847,000 after buying an additional 15,014 shares during the last quarter. 95.30% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Nexstar Media Group Price Performance

Shares of NXST stock opened at $153.57 on Wednesday. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $162.30 and its 200-day simple moving average is $167.18. The firm has a market capitalization of $4.76 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.88, a PEG ratio of 0.25 and a beta of 1.45. Nexstar Media Group, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $147.25 and a fifty-two week high of $191.86. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.98, a quick ratio of 1.68 and a current ratio of 1.68.

Nexstar Media Group (NASDAQ:NXST) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, November 7th. The company reported $5.27 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $5.51 by ($0.24). Nexstar Media Group had a net margin of 11.39% and a return on equity of 26.03%. The firm had revenue of $1.37 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.37 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $0.70 EPS. Nexstar Media Group’s quarterly revenue was up 20.7% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Nexstar Media Group, Inc. will post 24.53 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Nexstar Media Group Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 29th. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 15th were paid a dividend of $1.69 per share. This represents a $6.76 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.40%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, November 15th. Nexstar Media Group’s payout ratio is 39.10%.

Insider Transactions at Nexstar Media Group

In other Nexstar Media Group news, CFO Lee Ann Gliha sold 330 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, December 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $158.23, for a total value of $52,215.90. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 8,610 shares in the company, valued at $1,362,360.30. This represents a 3.69 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CEO Perry A. Sook sold 52,808 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, December 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $157.41, for a total transaction of $8,312,507.28. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 674,694 shares in the company, valued at $106,203,582.54. The trade was a 7.26 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 146,448 shares of company stock valued at $23,828,076 in the last three months. 6.30% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have recently issued reports on NXST. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Nexstar Media Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, November 8th. Barrington Research reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $200.00 target price on shares of Nexstar Media Group in a research report on Thursday, November 7th. Loop Capital downgraded Nexstar Media Group from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and decreased their target price for the stock from $200.00 to $190.00 in a research report on Friday, November 8th. Benchmark restated a “buy” rating and issued a $215.00 price objective on shares of Nexstar Media Group in a report on Friday, November 8th. Finally, Guggenheim reduced their target price on shares of Nexstar Media Group from $200.00 to $198.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Friday, October 4th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $204.29.

Nexstar Media Group Profile

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.