Analysts Set Nexstar Media Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:NXST) Price Target at $208.43

Nexstar Media Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:NXST) has been assigned an average rating of “Buy” from the seven brokerages that are covering the company, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a buy recommendation. The average twelve-month price objective among analysts that have covered the stock in the last year is $208.43.

NXST has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Loop Capital raised shares of Nexstar Media Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their price objective for the company from $190.00 to $200.00 in a report on Friday, February 28th. Rosenblatt Securities reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $200.00 target price on shares of Nexstar Media Group in a research note on Monday, March 10th. Guggenheim lifted their price target on shares of Nexstar Media Group from $210.00 to $220.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, February 28th. Benchmark raised their price objective on Nexstar Media Group from $200.00 to $225.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, February 28th. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded Nexstar Media Group from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, March 3rd.

Nexstar Media Group Stock Up 0.3 %

Shares of NXST stock opened at $174.52 on Wednesday. The company has a market capitalization of $5.32 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.09, a PEG ratio of 0.45 and a beta of 1.47. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.98, a current ratio of 1.68 and a quick ratio of 1.68. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $158.29 and its 200-day moving average price is $163.82. Nexstar Media Group has a one year low of $146.04 and a one year high of $191.86.

Nexstar Media Group (NASDAQ:NXST) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 27th. The company reported $7.56 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $9.22 by ($1.66). Nexstar Media Group had a net margin of 11.39% and a return on equity of 26.03%. The business had revenue of $1.49 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.48 billion. Sell-side analysts expect that Nexstar Media Group will post 21.62 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Nexstar Media Group Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, February 26th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, February 12th were paid a dividend of $1.86 per share. This is a boost from Nexstar Media Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.69. This represents a $7.44 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.26%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, February 12th. Nexstar Media Group’s payout ratio is presently 34.56%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Nexstar Media Group

In other Nexstar Media Group news, insider Gary Weitman sold 1,241 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, March 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $177.21, for a total transaction of $219,917.61. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 3,975 shares in the company, valued at $704,409.75. The trade was a 23.79 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, CFO Lee Ann Gliha sold 330 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, December 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $158.23, for a total transaction of $52,215.90. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 8,610 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,362,360.30. This trade represents a 3.69 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 126,250 shares of company stock worth $20,450,616 over the last ninety days. Company insiders own 6.30% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Nexstar Media Group

Several institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in NXST. BNP Paribas Financial Markets raised its holdings in shares of Nexstar Media Group by 67.8% in the third quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 26,239 shares of the company’s stock worth $4,339,000 after buying an additional 10,603 shares during the period. SGL Investment Advisors Inc. bought a new position in Nexstar Media Group in the 3rd quarter valued at $3,758,000. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its stake in Nexstar Media Group by 0.7% in the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,083,451 shares of the company’s stock worth $179,149,000 after purchasing an additional 7,117 shares during the period. Quest Partners LLC lifted its position in shares of Nexstar Media Group by 661.4% during the third quarter. Quest Partners LLC now owns 8,672 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,434,000 after purchasing an additional 7,533 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Holocene Advisors LP boosted its stake 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 purchasing an additional 15,014 shares during the period. 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.