Nexstar Media Group (NASDAQ:NXST) Trading Up 4.4% – Time to Buy?

by · The Markets Daily

Nexstar Media Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:NXST – Get Free Report) rose 4.4% during mid-day trading on Thursday . The stock traded as high as $170.90 and last traded at $172.1510. Approximately 47,241 shares were traded 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.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

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

View Our Latest Report on Nexstar Media Group

Nexstar Media Group Price Performance

The stock has a market cap of $5.19 billion, a P/E ratio of 32.43 and a beta of 0.90. The company has a current ratio of 1.56, a quick ratio of 1.56 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.09. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $183.67 and its 200-day simple moving average is $194.37.

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

Nexstar Media Group Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 28th. Investors of record on Friday, August 14th were paid a $1.86 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, August 14th. This represents a $7.44 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.4%. Nexstar Media Group’s payout ratio is presently 142.80%.

Insider Transactions at Nexstar Media Group

In other Nexstar Media Group news, insider Andrew Alford sold 746 shares of the firm’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 transaction, the insider owned 14,549 shares in the company, valued at $2,485,114.69. This trade represents a 4.88% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. Also, CEO Perry Sook acquired 12,235 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, June 26th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $162.26 per share, for a total transaction of $1,985,251.10. Following the completion of the acquisition, the chief executive officer directly owned 899,044 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $145,878,879.44. This represents a 1.38% increase in their position. Additional details regarding this purchase are available in the official SEC disclosure. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 11,945 shares of company stock valued at $2,153,687. Corporate insiders own 7.00% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Nexstar Media Group

Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC bought a new stake in shares of Nexstar Media Group during the first quarter worth $499,000. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. grew its position in Nexstar Media Group by 49.4% in the first quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 15,870 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,844,000 after purchasing an additional 5,251 shares in the last quarter. Millennium Management LLC grew its position in Nexstar Media Group by 571.4% in the first quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 72,650 shares of the company’s stock valued at $13,020,000 after purchasing an additional 61,830 shares in the last quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC increased its stake in Nexstar Media Group by 14.3% in the 1st quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 132,809 shares of the company’s stock valued at $23,802,000 after buying an additional 16,637 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Acadian Asset Management LLC acquired a new stake in Nexstar Media Group in the 1st quarter valued at $654,000. 95.30% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Nexstar Media Group Company Profile

(Get Free Report)

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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