Nexstar Media Group (NASDAQ:NXST) Earns “Buy” Rating from Benchmark

Benchmark reaffirmed their buy rating on shares of Nexstar Media Group (NASDAQ:NXST) in a research report report published on Thursday, Benzinga reports. The firm currently has a $225.00 target price on the stock.

NXST has been the subject of a number of other research reports. Loop Capital raised shares of Nexstar Media Group to a strong-buy rating in a report on Friday, May 10th. Rosenblatt Securities lowered their price objective on Nexstar Media Group from $216.00 to $213.00 and set a buy rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, March 13th. Wells Fargo & Company upgraded Nexstar Media Group from an equal weight rating to an overweight rating and lifted their target price for the stock from $190.00 to $221.00 in a report on Monday, May 13th. Finally, Barrington Research restated an outperform rating and set a $200.00 price target on shares of Nexstar Media Group in a report on Thursday, May 9th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, five have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of Moderate Buy and an average price target of $206.00.

Nexstar Media Group Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:NXST opened at $156.97 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.85, a quick ratio of 1.80 and a current ratio of 1.80. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $161.75 and a 200 day moving average price of $164.05. Nexstar Media Group has a fifty-two week low of $132.30 and a fifty-two week high of $187.32. The firm has a market cap of $5.15 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.28, a P/E/G ratio of 0.56 and a beta of 1.48.

Nexstar Media Group (NASDAQ:NXST) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, May 9th. The company reported $5.16 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.28 by $0.88. Nexstar Media Group had a net margin of 8.29% and a return on equity of 17.18%. The firm had revenue of $1.28 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.29 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $2.97 earnings per share. Nexstar Media Group’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.1% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Nexstar Media Group will post 27.62 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Nexstar Media Group Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 24th. Investors of record on Friday, May 10th were issued a dividend of $1.69 per share. This represents a $6.76 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.31%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, May 9th. Nexstar Media Group’s payout ratio is 57.19%.

Insider Activity at Nexstar Media Group

In related news, CFO Lee Ann Gliha sold 326 shares of Nexstar Media Group stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, June 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $160.00, for a total transaction of $52,160.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 5,462 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $873,920. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. In related news, Director Dennis J. Fitzsimons sold 2,000 shares of Nexstar Media Group stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $170.82, for a total transaction of $341,640.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 12,027 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,054,452.14. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, CFO Lee Ann Gliha sold 326 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, June 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $160.00, for a total transaction of $52,160.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 5,462 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $873,920. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 8,826 shares of company stock valued at $1,422,237 over the last ninety days. 5.90% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Nexstar Media Group

Several institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of NXST. Capital Research Global Investors acquired a new stake in Nexstar Media Group in the first quarter valued at approximately $92,323,000. Point72 Asset Management L.P. lifted its stake in shares of Nexstar Media Group by 392.6% during the fourth quarter. Point72 Asset Management L.P. now owns 450,351 shares of the company’s stock worth $70,593,000 after buying an additional 358,920 shares during the period. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Nexstar Media Group during the fourth quarter worth $51,812,000. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Nexstar Media Group by 3.9% during the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 3,370,415 shares of the company’s stock worth $580,689,000 after buying an additional 127,783 shares during the period. Finally, International Assets Investment Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Nexstar Media Group by 15,107.2% during the fourth quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 122,570 shares of the company’s stock worth $19,213,000 after buying an additional 121,764 shares during the period. 95.30% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Nexstar Media Group Company 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.