Nexstar Media Group (NASDAQ:NXST) Hits New 12-Month High – Still a Buy?

Shares of Nexstar Media Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:NXST) hit a new 52-week high on Thursday . The company traded as high as $191.32 and last traded at $190.76, with a volume of 31832 shares. The stock had previously closed at $183.25.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts recently weighed in on the company. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price objective on Nexstar Media Group from $221.00 to $209.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, August 9th. 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. Benchmark reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $215.00 target price on shares of Nexstar Media Group in a report on Friday. Loop Capital lowered Nexstar Media Group from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and decreased their price objective for the company from $200.00 to $190.00 in a research note on Friday. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded Nexstar Media Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Nexstar Media Group presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $198.50.

Nexstar Media Group Trading Down 11.9 %

The company has a market cap of $5.36 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.05, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.21 and a beta of 1.48. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $168.54 and a 200 day moving average price of $166.94. The company has a current ratio of 1.78, a quick ratio of 1.78 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.92.

Nexstar Media Group (NASDAQ:NXST) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, November 7th. The company reported $5.27 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $5.51 by ($0.24). Nexstar Media Group had a return on equity of 18.65% and a net margin of 8.68%. The firm had revenue of $1.37 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.37 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $0.70 EPS. Nexstar Media Group’s revenue was up 20.7% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Nexstar Media Group, Inc. will post 25.72 EPS for the current year.

Nexstar Media Group Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 29th. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 15th will be issued a dividend of $1.69 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, November 15th. This represents a $6.76 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.07%. Nexstar Media Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 53.14%.

Insider Transactions at Nexstar Media Group

In other news, Director Charles Thomas Mcmillen sold 250 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, September 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $164.44, for a total value of $41,110.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 7,725 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,270,299. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. In related news, insider Andrew Alford sold 3,175 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, September 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $167.82, for a total value of $532,828.50. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 9,173 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,539,412.86. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director Charles Thomas Mcmillen sold 250 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, September 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $164.44, for a total value of $41,110.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 7,725 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,270,299. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 41,112 shares of company stock valued at $6,887,029. 6.30% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of NXST. Whittier Trust Co. bought a new stake in Nexstar Media Group during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC boosted its stake in Nexstar Media Group by 3,700.0% during the 2nd quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 266 shares of the company’s stock valued at $44,000 after purchasing an additional 259 shares during the period. Capital Performance Advisors LLP bought a new stake in Nexstar Media Group during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $44,000. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its stake in Nexstar Media Group by 112.2% during the 2nd quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 295 shares of the company’s stock valued at $49,000 after purchasing an additional 156 shares during the period. Finally, Mascoma Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Nexstar Media Group in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $49,000. 95.30% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Nexstar Media Group Company 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.