Nexstar Media Group (NASDAQ:NXST) Earns “Outperform” Rating from Barrington Research

Barrington Research reaffirmed their outperform rating on shares of Nexstar Media Group (NASDAQ:NXST) in a report published on Thursday,Benzinga reports. They currently have a $200.00 price target on the stock.

A number of other brokerages have also recently commented on NXST. StockNews.com cut Nexstar Media Group from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, October 4th. Benchmark dropped their target price on Nexstar Media Group from $225.00 to $215.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, October 14th. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price target on Nexstar Media Group from $221.00 to $209.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, August 9th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft dropped their price objective on shares of Nexstar Media Group from $207.00 to $205.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Friday, August 9th. Finally, Guggenheim reduced their target price on shares of Nexstar Media Group from $200.00 to $198.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, October 4th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $198.50.

Nexstar Media Group Price Performance

Nexstar Media Group stock traded down $22.46 during midday trading on Thursday, reaching $166.04. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 1,148,413 shares, compared to its average volume of 278,403. The company has a current ratio of 1.78, a quick ratio of 1.78 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.92. The stock has a market cap of $5.36 billion, a PE ratio of 9.60, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.21 and a beta of 1.48. Nexstar Media Group has a 52 week low of $140.92 and a 52 week high of $191.86. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $168.54 and a 200-day moving average price of $166.97.

Nexstar Media Group (NASDAQ:NXST) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, November 7th. The company reported $5.27 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $5.51 by ($0.24). The company had revenue of $1.37 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.37 billion. Nexstar Media Group had a net margin of 8.68% and a return on equity of 18.65%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 20.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm posted $0.70 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Nexstar Media Group will post 25.72 EPS for the current year.

Nexstar Media Group Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 29th. Investors of record on Friday, November 15th will be issued a $1.69 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, November 15th. This represents a $6.76 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.07%. Nexstar Media Group’s payout ratio is 39.10%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, insider Andrew Alford sold 3,175 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, September 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $167.82, for a total transaction of $532,828.50. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 9,173 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,539,412.86. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. In related news, insider Sean Compton sold 3,930 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $160.61, for a total transaction of $631,197.30. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 10,684 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,715,957.24. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, insider Andrew Alford sold 3,175 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, September 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $167.82, for a total value of $532,828.50. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 9,173 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,539,412.86. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 41,112 shares of company stock worth $6,887,029. Company insiders own 6.30% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Nexstar Media Group

A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. bought a new stake in Nexstar Media Group during the 1st quarter valued at $2,111,000. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its holdings 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 valued at $580,689,000 after buying an additional 127,783 shares during the last quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets increased its position in shares of Nexstar Media Group by 116.3% during the first quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 30,384 shares of the company’s stock worth $5,235,000 after acquiring an additional 16,338 shares in the last quarter. Cornercap Investment Counsel Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Nexstar Media Group in the 2nd quarter worth about $570,000. Finally, BNP PARIBAS ASSET MANAGEMENT Holding S.A. lifted its position in Nexstar Media Group by 17.4% in the 1st quarter. BNP PARIBAS ASSET MANAGEMENT Holding S.A. now owns 98,272 shares of the company’s stock valued at $16,932,000 after acquiring an additional 14,574 shares in the last quarter. 95.30% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.