Nexstar Media Group (NASDAQ:NXST) Releases Quarterly Earnings Results, Misses Expectations By $1.66 EPS

Nexstar Media Group (NASDAQ:NXST) released its earnings results on Thursday. The company reported $7.56 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $9.22 by ($1.66), Zacks reports. The company had revenue of $1.49 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.48 billion. Nexstar Media Group had a net margin of 11.39% and a return on equity of 26.03%.

Nexstar Media Group Stock Performance

Nexstar Media Group stock traded up $8.21 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $170.79. 362,399 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 317,574. Nexstar Media Group has a 1 year low of $146.04 and a 1 year high of $191.86. The stock has a market capitalization of $5.30 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.88, a P/E/G ratio of 0.45 and a beta of 1.45. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.98, a current ratio of 1.68 and a quick ratio of 1.68. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $155.08 and its 200-day moving average price is $163.29.

Nexstar Media Group Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, February 26th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, February 12th were paid a dividend of $1.86 per share. This is an increase from Nexstar Media Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.69. This represents a $7.44 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.36%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, February 12th. Nexstar Media Group’s payout ratio is presently 43.03%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have recently commented on the company. Benchmark boosted their price objective on Nexstar Media Group from $200.00 to $225.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday. Loop Capital raised Nexstar Media Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their price objective for the stock from $190.00 to $200.00 in a research note on Friday. Guggenheim increased 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. Barrington Research restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $200.00 price target on shares of Nexstar Media Group in a research report on Thursday. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded shares of Nexstar Media Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, November 8th. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $210.29.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Nexstar Media Group news, Director Lisbeth Mcnabb sold 875 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, December 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $172.00, for a total transaction of $150,500.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 5,752 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $989,344. This represents a 13.20 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Perry A. Sook sold 35,205 shares of Nexstar Media Group stock in a transaction on Tuesday, December 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $162.13, for a total transaction of $5,707,786.65. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 674,694 shares in the company, valued at approximately $109,388,138.22. This trade represents a 4.96 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 127,493 shares of company stock worth $20,354,366. 6.30% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.