Nexstar Media Group (NASDAQ:NXST) Lowered to “Strong Sell” Rating by Zacks Research

Zacks Research downgraded shares of Nexstar Media Group (NASDAQ:NXST) from a hold rating to a strong sell rating in a research report released on Monday morning,Zacks.com reports.

A number of other equities research analysts have also recently issued reports on the stock. Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Nexstar Media Group in a research report on Wednesday, May 27th. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Nexstar Media Group from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Sunday, July 12th. Barrington Research reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $290.00 price target on shares of Nexstar Media Group in a research report on Tuesday, April 28th. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price objective on shares of Nexstar Media Group from $253.00 to $249.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, August 7th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft cut their price objective on shares of Nexstar Media Group from $270.00 to $255.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Monday, May 11th. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, one has issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Nexstar Media Group currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $259.00.

Nexstar Media Group Price Performance

Nexstar Media Group stock opened at $184.56 on Monday. The company has a market capitalization of $5.69 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 35.42, a PEG ratio of 0.51 and a beta of 0.91. The company has a current ratio of 1.76, a quick ratio of 1.76 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.53. Nexstar Media Group has a 12 month low of $154.47 and a 12 month high of $254.30. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $179.52 and its 200-day moving average is $200.43.

Nexstar Media Group (NASDAQ:NXST) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 6th. The company reported $3.61 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $5.98 by ($2.37). The firm had revenue of $1.99 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.97 billion. Nexstar Media Group had a return on equity of 24.26% and a net margin of 3.20%.The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 62.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $3.06 earnings per share. Equities research analysts expect that Nexstar Media Group will post 37.46 EPS for the current year.

Nexstar Media Group Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 28th. Investors of record on Friday, August 14th will be given a $1.86 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, August 14th. This represents a $7.44 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.0%. Nexstar Media Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 142.80%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Nexstar Media Group news, insider Dana Zimmer sold 915 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, June 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $176.42, for a total transaction of $161,424.30. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 5,738 shares in the company, valued at $1,012,297.96. This represents a 13.75% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. Also, Director Charles Thomas Mcmillen sold 1,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, June 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $180.00, for a total transaction of $180,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 5,658 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,018,440. This represents a 15.02% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders have sold 22,813 shares of company stock valued at $4,174,731 in the last ninety days. Insiders own 7.00% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Nexstar Media Group

Large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Torren Management LLC acquired a new position in Nexstar Media Group during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Measured Wealth Private Client Group LLC bought a new stake in Nexstar Media Group during the third quarter worth $28,000. WPG Advisers LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Nexstar Media Group by 65.7% in the 4th quarter. WPG Advisers LLC now owns 179 shares of the company’s stock valued at $36,000 after purchasing an additional 71 shares in the last quarter. State of Wyoming acquired a new stake in shares of Nexstar Media Group in the 2nd quarter valued at $54,000. Finally, Danske Bank A S bought a new position in shares of Nexstar Media Group in the 3rd quarter valued at $59,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 95.30% of the company’s stock.

About Nexstar Media Group

Nexstar Media Group, Inc is a diversified American media company engaged primarily in the ownership, operation and strategic affiliation of local television stations, digital platforms and cable networks. The company provides a range of broadcast content, including local news, sports coverage, entertainment programming and syndicated shows, reaching audiences in more than 100 television markets across the United States.

Founded in 1996 by entrepreneur Perry Sook and headquartered in Irving, Texas, Nexstar has built its presence through organic growth and a series of high-profile acquisitions.