Boston Partners Boosts Position in Nexstar Media Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:NXST)

Boston Partners increased its holdings in shares of Nexstar Media Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:NXST) by 1.6% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 277,297 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 4,457 shares during the quarter. Boston Partners owned approximately 0.89% of Nexstar Media Group worth $43,656,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in NXST. Brooklyn Investment Group purchased a new stake in Nexstar Media Group during the third quarter worth approximately $25,000. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. purchased a new stake in Nexstar Media Group in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $25,000. True Wealth Design LLC purchased a new stake in Nexstar Media Group in the third quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB purchased a new stake in Nexstar Media Group in the third quarter valued at approximately $33,000. Finally, Jones Financial Companies Lllp lifted its stake in Nexstar Media Group by 15.3% in the fourth quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 550 shares of the company’s stock valued at $87,000 after buying an additional 73 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 95.30% of the company’s stock.

Nexstar Media Group Trading Up 2.7 %

NASDAQ:NXST opened at $179.28 on Thursday. The firm has a market cap of $5.47 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.37, a PEG ratio of 0.45 and a beta of 1.47. The company has a current ratio of 1.68, a quick ratio of 1.68 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.98. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $158.73 and its 200-day simple moving average is $163.92. Nexstar Media Group, Inc. has a 12-month low of $146.04 and a 12-month high of $191.86.

Nexstar Media Group (NASDAQ:NXST) last released its earnings results 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 net margin of 11.39% and a return on equity of 26.03%. The company had revenue of $1.49 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.48 billion. Equities analysts anticipate that Nexstar Media Group, Inc. will post 21.62 EPS for the current year.

Nexstar Media Group Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, February 26th. Investors of record on Wednesday, February 12th were issued a dividend of $1.86 per share. This represents a $7.44 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.15%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, February 12th. 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%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

NXST has been the subject of a number of research reports. StockNews.com cut Nexstar Media Group from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, March 3rd. Barrington Research reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $200.00 price objective on shares of Nexstar Media Group in a research note on Wednesday, March 5th. 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, February 28th. Benchmark boosted their price objective on Nexstar Media Group from $200.00 to $225.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, February 28th. Finally, Loop Capital upgraded Nexstar Media Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their price objective for the company from $190.00 to $200.00 in a research note on Friday, February 28th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $208.43.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CEO Perry A. Sook sold 52,808 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on 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 transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 674,694 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $106,203,582.54. This represents a 7.26 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, insider Gary Weitman sold 1,241 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, March 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $177.21, for a total value of $219,917.61. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 3,975 shares in the company, valued at $704,409.75. This represents a 23.79 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 126,250 shares of company stock valued at $20,450,616 over the last quarter. Company insiders own 6.30% of the company’s stock.

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.