Nexstar Media Group (NASDAQ:NXST) Stock Rating Upgraded by StockNews.com

StockNews.com upgraded shares of Nexstar Media Group (NASDAQ:NXST) from a hold rating to a buy rating in a research note issued to investors on Friday.

Other research analysts also recently issued research reports about the company. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft decreased their price objective on Nexstar Media Group from $207.00 to $205.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, August 9th. Guggenheim decreased their price objective on Nexstar Media Group from $200.00 to $198.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, October 4th. Barrington Research reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $200.00 price objective on shares of Nexstar Media Group in a research note on Thursday, November 7th. Loop Capital downgraded Nexstar Media Group from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and decreased their price objective for the stock from $200.00 to $190.00 in a research note on Friday. Finally, Benchmark reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $215.00 price objective on shares of Nexstar Media Group in a research note on Friday. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Nexstar Media Group currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $198.50.

Nexstar Media Group Stock Up 3.0 %

NXST stock opened at $171.01 on Friday. Nexstar Media Group has a fifty-two week low of $140.92 and a fifty-two week high of $191.86. The business’s 50-day moving average is $168.54 and its two-hundred day moving average is $167.06. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.92, a quick ratio of 1.78 and a current ratio of 1.78. The company has a market cap of $5.52 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.89, a P/E/G ratio of 0.19 and a beta of 1.48.

Nexstar Media Group (NASDAQ:NXST) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, November 7th. The company reported $5.27 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $5.51 by ($0.24). Nexstar Media Group had a net margin of 11.39% and a return on equity of 25.72%. The firm had revenue of $1.37 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.37 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $0.70 EPS. The firm’s revenue was up 20.7% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts forecast that Nexstar Media Group will post 25.72 earnings per share for the current year.

Nexstar Media Group Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 29th. Investors of record on Friday, November 15th will be given a dividend of $1.69 per share. This represents a $6.76 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.95%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, November 15th. Nexstar Media Group’s dividend payout ratio is currently 39.10%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Nexstar Media Group news, insider Gary Weitman sold 7,261 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, September 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $164.80, for a total transaction of $1,196,612.80. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 5,216 shares in the company, valued at $859,596.80. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. In other Nexstar Media Group news, insider Andrew Alford sold 3,175 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 completion of the transaction, 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 position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, insider Gary Weitman sold 7,261 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, September 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $164.80, for a total value of $1,196,612.80. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 5,216 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $859,596.80. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 41,112 shares of company stock worth $6,887,029. 6.30% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Nexstar Media Group

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of NXST. Whittier Trust Co. purchased a new position in shares of Nexstar Media Group in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $27,000. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC lifted its stake in shares of 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 worth $44,000 after acquiring an additional 259 shares during the last quarter. Capital Performance Advisors LLP bought a new stake in shares of Nexstar Media Group during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $44,000. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its stake in shares of Nexstar Media Group by 112.2% during the 2nd quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 295 shares of the company’s stock worth $49,000 after acquiring an additional 156 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Mascoma Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Nexstar Media Group during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $49,000. 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.