Nexstar Media Group (NASDAQ:NXST) Shares Up 5.7% on Analyst Upgrade

Shares of Nexstar Media Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:NXST) were up 5.7% during mid-day trading on Friday after Benchmark raised their price target on the stock from $200.00 to $225.00. Benchmark currently has a buy rating on the stock. Nexstar Media Group traded as high as $171.50 and last traded at $171.89. Approximately 58,161 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 81% from the average daily volume of 310,952 shares. The stock had previously closed at $162.58.

A number of other brokerages also recently issued reports on NXST. Guggenheim boosted their price objective on Nexstar Media Group from $210.00 to $220.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday. Barrington Research reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $200.00 price target on shares of Nexstar Media Group in a research note on Thursday. Loop Capital raised shares of Nexstar Media Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their price objective for the stock from $190.00 to $200.00 in a research report on Friday. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded shares of Nexstar Media Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, November 8th. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $210.29.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director Lisbeth Mcnabb sold 875 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, December 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $172.00, for a total transaction of $150,500.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 5,752 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $989,344. The trade was a 13.20 % 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, CEO Perry A. Sook sold 52,808 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, December 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $157.41, for a total transaction of $8,312,507.28. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 674,694 shares in the company, valued at $106,203,582.54. This represents a 7.26 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 127,493 shares of company stock worth $20,354,366 in the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 6.30% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Nexstar Media Group

Hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH bought a new position in shares of Nexstar Media Group in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $6,496,000. Jefferies Financial Group Inc. purchased a new stake in Nexstar Media Group in the 4th quarter valued at $2,086,000. Integrated Advisors Network LLC lifted its stake in Nexstar Media Group by 9.6% during the 4th quarter. Integrated Advisors Network LLC now owns 1,461 shares of the company’s stock valued at $231,000 after acquiring an additional 128 shares in the last quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC boosted its holdings in Nexstar Media Group by 12.3% during the 4th quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 116,172 shares of the company’s stock worth $18,352,000 after acquiring an additional 12,695 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Voloridge Investment Management LLC purchased a new position in Nexstar Media Group during the 4th quarter worth $7,075,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 95.30% of the company’s stock.

Nexstar Media Group Stock Performance

The company’s 50 day moving average price is $155.08 and its 200-day moving average price is $163.29. The stock has a market cap of $5.25 billion, a P/E ratio of 9.78, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.45 and a beta of 1.45. 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 quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 27th. The company reported $7.56 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $9.22 by ($1.66). Nexstar Media Group had a return on equity of 26.03% and a net margin of 11.39%. The firm had revenue of $1.49 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.48 billion. Equities analysts forecast that Nexstar Media Group, Inc. will post 21.62 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Nexstar Media Group Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, February 26th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, February 12th were issued a $1.86 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, February 12th. This is a positive change from Nexstar Media Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.69. This represents a $7.44 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.40%. Nexstar Media Group’s dividend payout ratio is currently 43.03%.

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.