Analysts Set Nexstar Media Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:NXST) Price Target at $201.67

Nexstar Media Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:NXST) has received an average rating of “Buy” from the seven analysts that are currently covering the company, Marketbeat.com reports. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, five have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating on the company. The average 1 year price objective among analysts that have covered the stock in the last year is $201.67.

NXST has been the topic of a number of research reports. StockNews.com cut Nexstar Media Group from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, September 17th. Benchmark reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $225.00 price objective on shares of Nexstar Media Group in a research report on Friday, August 9th. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price objective on Nexstar Media Group from $221.00 to $209.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, August 9th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft cut their price objective on Nexstar Media Group from $207.00 to $205.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, August 9th. Finally, Barrington Research reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $200.00 price objective on shares of Nexstar Media Group in a research report on Thursday, August 8th.

Nexstar Media Group Stock Up 1.1 %

NASDAQ:NXST opened at $167.58 on Wednesday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.78, a current ratio of 1.78 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.92. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $169.32 and its two-hundred day moving average is $165.93. Nexstar Media Group has a 52 week low of $132.30 and a 52 week high of $187.27. The stock has a market capitalization of $5.52 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.18, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.18 and a beta of 1.49.

Nexstar Media Group (NASDAQ:NXST) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 8th. The company reported $3.54 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.48 by ($0.94). Nexstar Media Group had a return on equity of 18.65% and a net margin of 8.68%. The firm had revenue of $1.27 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.28 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $2.64 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.3% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts anticipate that Nexstar Media Group will post 25.72 EPS for the current year.

Nexstar Media Group Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 23rd. Investors of record on Friday, August 9th were issued a $1.69 dividend. This represents a $6.76 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.03%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, August 9th. Nexstar Media Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 57.19%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Nexstar Media Group news, CFO Lee Ann Gliha sold 984 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $157.63, for a total transaction of $155,107.92. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 8,107 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,277,906.41. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. In other Nexstar Media Group news, CFO Lee Ann Gliha sold 984 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $157.63, for a total transaction of $155,107.92. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 8,107 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,277,906.41. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, EVP Blake Russell sold 2,782 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, September 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $169.92, for a total value of $472,717.44. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 22,329 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,794,143.68. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 30,426 shares of company stock valued at $5,116,478. 5.90% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Nexstar Media Group

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Granite Group Advisors LLC lifted its position in Nexstar Media Group by 5.1% in the first quarter. Granite Group Advisors LLC now owns 1,489 shares of the company’s stock valued at $257,000 after purchasing an additional 72 shares during the period. Quadrant Capital Group LLC lifted its position in Nexstar Media Group by 41.1% in the fourth quarter. Quadrant Capital Group LLC now owns 295 shares of the company’s stock valued at $46,000 after purchasing an additional 86 shares during the period. Klein Pavlis & Peasley Financial Inc. lifted its position in Nexstar Media Group by 0.6% in the second quarter. Klein Pavlis & Peasley Financial Inc. now owns 13,903 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,308,000 after purchasing an additional 87 shares during the period. SummerHaven Investment Management LLC lifted its position in Nexstar Media Group by 2.3% in the second quarter. SummerHaven Investment Management LLC now owns 4,217 shares of the company’s stock valued at $700,000 after purchasing an additional 96 shares during the period. Finally, Retirement Systems of Alabama lifted its position in Nexstar Media Group by 0.3% in the first quarter. Retirement Systems of Alabama now owns 40,479 shares of the company’s stock valued at $6,974,000 after purchasing an additional 107 shares during the period. 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.