Teacher Retirement System of Texas Grows Stock Position in Nexstar Media Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:NXST)

Teacher Retirement System of Texas boosted its position in Nexstar Media Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:NXST) by 116.7% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 16,604 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 8,943 shares during the period. Teacher Retirement System of Texas owned approximately 0.05% of Nexstar Media Group worth $2,623,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Pacer Advisors Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Nexstar Media Group by 27,180.2% in the fourth quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 1,206,877 shares of the company’s stock valued at $190,650,000 after acquiring an additional 1,202,453 shares in the last quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC purchased a new stake in Nexstar Media Group in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $35,560,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Nexstar Media Group during the 4th quarter worth approximately $8,402,000. World Investment Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Nexstar Media Group in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $3,747,000. Finally, SGL Investment Advisors Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Nexstar Media Group in the third quarter valued at approximately $3,758,000. 95.30% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Nexstar Media Group Price Performance

NXST stock opened at $182.75 on Thursday. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $161.33 and its 200 day moving average price is $164.39. The firm has a market cap of $5.58 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.57, a PEG ratio of 0.45 and a beta of 1.47. 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, Inc. has a 1 year low of $146.04 and a 1 year high of $191.86.

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 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 during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.48 billion. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Nexstar Media Group, Inc. will post 21.62 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Nexstar Media Group Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, February 26th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, February 12th were given a $1.86 dividend. This represents a $7.44 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.07%. 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 payout ratio is currently 34.56%.

Insider Activity at Nexstar Media Group

In related news, Director Charles Thomas Mcmillen sold 2,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $169.51, for a total transaction of $339,020.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 4,975 shares in the company, valued at approximately $843,312.25. This represents a 28.67 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Perry A. Sook sold 32,096 shares of Nexstar Media Group stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $170.67, for a total value of $5,477,824.32. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 806,019 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $137,563,262.73. This trade represents a 3.83 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 35,337 shares of company stock valued at $6,036,762. Company insiders own 6.30% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

NXST has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Benchmark raised their target price on Nexstar Media Group from $200.00 to $225.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, February 28th. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Nexstar Media Group from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, March 3rd. Loop Capital raised shares of Nexstar Media Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their target price for the company from $190.00 to $200.00 in a report on Friday, February 28th. Rosenblatt Securities reissued a “buy” rating and set a $200.00 price target on shares of Nexstar Media Group in a research note on Monday, March 10th. Finally, Barrington Research reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $200.00 price objective on shares of Nexstar Media Group in a report on Wednesday, March 5th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price 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.