HighTower Advisors LLC Sells 42,174 Shares of Nexstar Media Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:NXST)

HighTower Advisors LLC lessened its stake in shares of Nexstar Media Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:NXST) by 34.8% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 78,977 shares of the company’s stock after selling 42,174 shares during the quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC owned approximately 0.25% of Nexstar Media Group worth $12,476,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Brooklyn Investment Group bought a new stake in shares of Nexstar Media Group during the third quarter worth $25,000. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. bought a new stake in shares of Nexstar Media Group in the fourth quarter worth $25,000. True Wealth Design LLC bought a new stake in shares of Nexstar Media Group in the third quarter worth $30,000. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB bought a new stake in shares of Nexstar Media Group in the third quarter worth $33,000. Finally, Jones Financial Companies Lllp grew its stake in shares of Nexstar Media Group by 15.3% in the fourth quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 550 shares of the company’s stock worth $87,000 after purchasing an additional 73 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 95.30% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In related news, CFO Lee Ann Gliha sold 330 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, December 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $158.23, for a total value of $52,215.90. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 8,610 shares in the company, valued at $1,362,360.30. This represents a 3.69 % decrease in their position. 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. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 161,455 shares of company stock worth $26,158,403. Company insiders own 6.30% of the company’s stock.

Nexstar Media Group Price Performance

NXST stock opened at $169.88 on Monday. The firm has a market cap of $5.18 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.83, a PEG ratio of 0.45 and a beta of 1.47. The company has a quick ratio of 1.68, a current ratio of 1.68 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.98. Nexstar Media Group, Inc. has a 12-month low of $146.04 and a 12-month high of $191.86. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $157.81 and its 200 day simple moving average is $163.75.

Nexstar Media Group (NASDAQ:NXST) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 27th. The company reported $7.56 earnings per share 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 company had revenue of $1.49 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.48 billion. On average, analysts expect that Nexstar Media Group, Inc. will post 21.62 earnings per share for the current year.

Nexstar Media Group Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, February 26th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, February 12th were issued a dividend of $1.86 per share. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, February 12th. This represents a $7.44 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.38%. This is a positive change from Nexstar Media Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.69. Nexstar Media Group’s dividend payout ratio is currently 34.56%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

NXST has been the topic of several analyst reports. StockNews.com cut shares of Nexstar Media Group from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, March 3rd. Rosenblatt Securities reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $200.00 price objective on shares of Nexstar Media Group in a research note on Monday, March 10th. Guggenheim boosted their price objective on shares of Nexstar Media Group from $210.00 to $220.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, February 28th. Benchmark boosted their price objective on shares of Nexstar Media Group from $200.00 to $225.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, February 28th. Finally, Loop Capital upgraded shares of Nexstar Media Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their target price for the company from $190.00 to $200.00 in a report on Friday, February 28th. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Nexstar Media Group has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $208.43.

Nexstar Media Group 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.