Nexstar Media Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:NXST) Receives $208.43 Average Price Target from Analysts

Shares of Nexstar Media Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:NXST) have been given an average recommendation of “Buy” by the seven research firms that are currently covering the stock, MarketBeat.com reports. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating. The average 12-month price objective among analysts that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $208.43.

NXST has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Guggenheim raised their target price on Nexstar Media Group from $210.00 to $220.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, February 28th. Benchmark raised their price target on shares of Nexstar Media Group from $200.00 to $225.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, February 28th. StockNews.com lowered shares of Nexstar Media Group from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, March 3rd. Barrington Research reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $200.00 price target on shares of Nexstar Media Group in a research note on Wednesday, March 5th. Finally, Loop Capital raised shares of Nexstar Media Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their price target for the company from $190.00 to $200.00 in a research note on Friday, February 28th.

Nexstar Media Group Price Performance

NASDAQ:NXST opened at $169.88 on Wednesday. Nexstar Media Group has a 52 week low of $146.04 and a 52 week high of $191.86. The company has a quick ratio of 1.68, a current ratio of 1.68 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.98. The stock has a market capitalization of $5.18 billion, a PE ratio of 9.83, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.45 and a beta of 1.47. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $157.63 and its 200-day moving average price is $163.83.

Nexstar Media Group (NASDAQ:NXST) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, February 27th. The company reported $7.56 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 business had revenue of $1.49 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.48 billion. As a group, equities analysts expect that Nexstar Media Group will post 21.62 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Nexstar Media Group Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, February 26th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, February 12th were paid a $1.86 dividend. This represents a $7.44 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.38%. This is a positive change from Nexstar Media Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.69. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, February 12th. Nexstar Media Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 34.56%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Nexstar Media Group news, insider Gary Weitman sold 1,241 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 7th. The shares were 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 of the company’s stock, valued at $704,409.75. This trade represents a 23.79 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director Charles Thomas Mcmillen sold 750 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, December 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $159.93, for a total transaction of $119,947.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 6,975 shares in the company, valued at $1,115,511.75. This trade represents a 9.71 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 161,455 shares of company stock valued at $26,158,403 in the last ninety days. 6.30% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Nexstar Media Group

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC increased its holdings in shares of Nexstar Media Group by 1.1% during the 4th quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 6,487 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,073,000 after buying an additional 68 shares during the last quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp increased 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 worth $87,000 after buying an additional 73 shares during the last quarter. Mariner LLC increased its holdings in shares of Nexstar Media Group by 5.3% during the 4th quarter. Mariner LLC now owns 2,300 shares of the company’s stock worth $363,000 after buying an additional 115 shares during the last quarter. Natixis Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of Nexstar Media Group by 1.2% during the 3rd quarter. Natixis Advisors LLC now owns 10,185 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,684,000 after buying an additional 117 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Focus Partners Wealth increased its holdings in shares of Nexstar Media Group by 7.3% during the 4th quarter. Focus Partners Wealth now owns 1,726 shares of the company’s stock worth $273,000 after buying an additional 117 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 95.30% of the company’s stock.

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.