CANADA LIFE ASSURANCE Co Sells 3,596 Shares of Nexstar Media Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:NXST)

CANADA LIFE ASSURANCE Co trimmed its position in shares of Nexstar Media Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:NXST) by 9.5% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 34,202 shares of the company’s stock after selling 3,596 shares during the quarter. CANADA LIFE ASSURANCE Co owned about 0.11% of Nexstar Media Group worth $5,399,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC lifted its position in Nexstar Media Group by 1.1% during the fourth quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 6,487 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,073,000 after acquiring an additional 68 shares during the last quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp lifted its holdings in shares of Nexstar Media Group by 15.3% during the 4th quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 550 shares of the company’s stock valued at $87,000 after purchasing an additional 73 shares during the last quarter. Mariner LLC boosted its position in shares of Nexstar Media Group by 5.3% in the 4th quarter. Mariner LLC now owns 2,300 shares of the company’s stock worth $363,000 after purchasing an additional 115 shares in the last quarter. Davis Capital Management grew its stake in Nexstar Media Group by 2.0% during the 4th quarter. Davis Capital Management now owns 6,270 shares of the company’s stock worth $990,000 after buying an additional 122 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc. increased its position in Nexstar Media Group by 5.8% during the 4th quarter. Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc. now owns 2,518 shares of the company’s stock valued at $398,000 after buying an additional 137 shares in the last quarter. 95.30% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

NXST has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Guggenheim boosted their price target on 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 target price on shares of Nexstar Media Group from $200.00 to $225.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, February 28th. Barrington Research reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $200.00 price objective on shares of Nexstar Media Group in a research note on Wednesday, March 5th. Rosenblatt Securities reissued a “buy” rating and set a $200.00 price objective on shares of Nexstar Media Group in a report on Monday, March 10th. Finally, StockNews.com cut Nexstar Media Group from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, March 3rd. One research 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 presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $208.43.

Nexstar Media Group Price Performance

NASDAQ:NXST opened at $150.14 on Thursday. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $163.28 and its two-hundred day moving average is $163.37. The firm has a market cap of $4.58 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.68, a PEG ratio of 0.45 and a beta of 1.09. Nexstar Media Group, Inc. has a one year low of $143.32 and a one year high of $191.86. 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 posted its earnings results on Thursday, February 27th. The company reported $7.56 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate 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 company had revenue of $1.49 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.48 billion. Research analysts expect that Nexstar Media Group, Inc. will post 21.62 EPS for the current year.

Nexstar Media Group Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared 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. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, February 12th. This is an increase from Nexstar Media Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.69. This represents a $7.44 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.96%. Nexstar Media Group’s dividend payout ratio is 34.56%.

Insider Activity at Nexstar Media Group

In other news, CEO Perry A. Sook sold 32,096 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $170.67, for a total transaction of $5,477,824.32. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 806,019 shares in the company, valued at $137,563,262.73. This trade represents a 3.83 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Charles Thomas Mcmillen sold 2,000 shares of Nexstar Media Group stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $169.51, for a total value of $339,020.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 4,975 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $843,312.25. This represents a 28.67 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 39,105 shares of company stock worth $6,722,463. 6.30% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.