Lazard Asset Management LLC Buys Shares of 14,654 Nexstar Media Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:NXST)

Lazard Asset Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Nexstar Media Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:NXST) during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund bought 14,654 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,314,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of NXST. Janus Henderson Group PLC increased its holdings in shares of Nexstar Media Group by 3.6% in the fourth quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 14,074 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,223,000 after purchasing an additional 494 shares during the period. Jefferies Financial Group Inc. bought a new position in shares of Nexstar Media Group in the fourth quarter worth $2,086,000. Gotham Asset Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Nexstar Media Group by 1.2% in the fourth quarter. Gotham Asset Management LLC now owns 49,915 shares of the company’s stock worth $7,885,000 after purchasing an additional 608 shares during the period. Focus Partners Wealth increased its holdings in shares of Nexstar Media Group by 7.3% in the fourth quarter. Focus Partners Wealth now owns 1,726 shares of the company’s stock worth $273,000 after purchasing an additional 117 shares during the period. Finally, FORA Capital LLC increased its holdings in shares of Nexstar Media Group by 119.9% in the fourth quarter. FORA Capital LLC now owns 9,474 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,497,000 after purchasing an additional 5,166 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 95.30% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, insider Andrew Alford sold 3,768 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $181.98, for a total value of $685,700.64. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 5,405 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $983,601.90. This represents a 41.08% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, insider Gary Weitman sold 1,241 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $177.21, for a total transaction of $219,917.61. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 3,975 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $704,409.75. The trade was a 23.79% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 39,105 shares of company stock valued at $6,722,463 over the last three months. Corporate insiders own 6.70% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on NXST shares. Barrington Research reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $200.00 price target on shares of Nexstar Media Group in a report on Tuesday, May 13th. Wells Fargo & Company cut their target price on shares of Nexstar Media Group from $216.00 to $200.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. Loop Capital upgraded shares of Nexstar Media Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their target price for the stock from $190.00 to $200.00 in a research report on Friday, February 28th. Guggenheim upped their price target on shares of Nexstar Media Group from $210.00 to $220.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, February 28th. Finally, StockNews.com lowered shares of Nexstar Media Group from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, March 3rd. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $205.71.

Nexstar Media Group Stock Performance

Nexstar Media Group stock opened at $176.53 on Friday. 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 firm has a 50-day moving average of $162.60 and a 200-day moving average of $162.13. The firm has a market cap of $5.39 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.21, a P/E/G ratio of 0.45 and a beta of 1.06. Nexstar Media Group, Inc. has a 1-year low of $141.66 and a 1-year high of $191.86.

Nexstar Media Group (NASDAQ:NXST) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, May 8th. The company reported $3.37 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.26 by $0.11. The company had revenue of $1.23 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.23 billion. Nexstar Media Group had a net margin of 11.39% and a return on equity of 26.03%. Nexstar Media Group’s revenue for the quarter was down 3.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $5.16 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts expect that Nexstar Media Group, Inc. will post 21.62 EPS for the current year.

Nexstar Media Group Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 2nd. Investors of record on Monday, May 19th will be paid a $1.86 dividend. This represents a $7.44 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.21%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, May 19th. Nexstar Media Group’s payout ratio is currently 37.69%.

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.