Nexstar Media Group (NASDAQ:NXST) Price Target Cut to $215.00 by Analysts at Benchmark

Nexstar Media Group (NASDAQ:NXST) had its price target trimmed by Benchmark from $225.00 to $215.00 in a report released on Monday, Benzinga reports. The firm currently has a buy rating on the stock.

A number of other equities analysts also recently issued reports on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price target on shares of Nexstar Media Group from $221.00 to $209.00 and set an overweight rating for the company in a report on Friday, August 9th. Guggenheim reduced their price target on shares of Nexstar Media Group from $200.00 to $198.00 and set a buy rating for the company in a research report on Friday, October 4th. StockNews.com cut Nexstar Media Group from a buy rating to a hold rating in a report on Friday, October 4th. Barrington Research reaffirmed an outperform rating and set a $200.00 price objective on shares of Nexstar Media Group in a report on Thursday, August 8th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lowered their target price on Nexstar Media Group from $207.00 to $205.00 and set a buy rating on the stock in a report on Friday, August 9th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, six have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of Moderate Buy and an average price target of $199.71.

Nexstar Media Group Stock Down 0.7 %

Shares of NASDAQ:NXST opened at $168.48 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.92, a current ratio of 1.78 and a quick ratio of 1.78. Nexstar Media Group has a 1-year low of $133.55 and a 1-year high of $187.27. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $165.53 and a 200 day moving average price of $165.77. The stock has a market cap of $5.55 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.25, a P/E/G ratio of 0.19 and a beta of 1.49.

Nexstar Media Group (NASDAQ:NXST) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 8th. The company reported $3.54 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.48 by ($0.94). The firm had revenue of $1.27 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.28 billion. Nexstar Media Group had a return on equity of 18.65% and a net margin of 8.68%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 2.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $2.64 EPS. Sell-side analysts predict that Nexstar Media Group will post 25.72 EPS for the current year.

Nexstar Media Group Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 23rd. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 9th were issued a $1.69 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, August 9th. This represents a $6.76 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.01%. Nexstar Media Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 57.19%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, insider Sean Compton sold 3,930 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $160.61, for a total value of $631,197.30. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 10,684 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,715,957.24. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. In other news, insider Andrew Alford sold 3,175 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, September 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $167.82, for a total transaction of $532,828.50. Following the sale, the insider now owns 9,173 shares in the company, valued at $1,539,412.86. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, insider Sean Compton sold 3,930 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, August 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $160.61, for a total value of $631,197.30. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 10,684 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,715,957.24. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 41,112 shares of company stock valued at $6,887,029 in the last ninety days. Insiders own 5.90% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Nexstar Media Group

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Creative Planning boosted its position in shares of Nexstar Media Group by 43.8% in the third quarter. Creative Planning now owns 6,925 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,145,000 after acquiring an additional 2,108 shares during the last quarter. CX Institutional raised its stake in Nexstar Media Group by 5.0% during the third quarter. CX Institutional now owns 1,396 shares of the company’s stock worth $231,000 after purchasing an additional 67 shares during the period. HCR Wealth Advisors acquired a new position in shares of Nexstar Media Group in the 3rd quarter valued at $827,000. UMB Bank n.a. grew its stake in shares of Nexstar Media Group by 117.8% during the 3rd quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 294 shares of the company’s stock valued at $49,000 after buying an additional 159 shares during the period. Finally, CWM LLC grew its stake in shares of Nexstar Media Group by 231.2% during the 3rd quarter. CWM LLC now owns 3,902 shares of the company’s stock valued at $645,000 after buying an additional 2,724 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors 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.