Empirical Finance LLC Decreases Holdings in Nexstar Media Group, Inc. $NXST

Empirical Finance LLC trimmed its holdings in shares of Nexstar Media Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:NXST) by 52.7% during the second quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 3,034 shares of the company’s stock after selling 3,385 shares during the quarter. Empirical Finance LLC’s holdings in Nexstar Media Group were worth $542,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Truist Financial Corp increased its holdings in Nexstar Media Group by 5.2% during the fourth quarter. Truist Financial Corp now owns 1,139 shares of the company’s stock worth $231,000 after buying an additional 56 shares during the last quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. boosted its stake in Nexstar Media Group by 15.7% in the second quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. now owns 589 shares of the company’s stock valued at $102,000 after acquiring an additional 80 shares during the last quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of Nexstar Media Group by 3.2% during the 4th quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC now owns 2,975 shares of the company’s stock valued at $604,000 after acquiring an additional 93 shares during the period. Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund grew its position in shares of Nexstar Media Group by 1.7% during the 1st quarter. Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund now owns 5,826 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,054,000 after acquiring an additional 100 shares during the period. Finally, Lazard Asset Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Nexstar Media Group by 6.4% in the 1st quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC now owns 1,774 shares of the company’s stock worth $321,000 after purchasing an additional 106 shares during the period. 95.30% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

NXST has been the subject of several research reports. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reduced their price objective on Nexstar Media Group from $255.00 to $240.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Monday, August 10th. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price objective on Nexstar Media Group from $253.00 to $249.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, August 7th. Wall Street Zen cut Nexstar Media Group from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Sunday, July 12th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Nexstar Media Group in a research report on Monday, August 24th. Finally, Zacks Research lowered shares of Nexstar Media Group from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research report on Monday, August 10th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, one has issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $256.50.

Nexstar Media Group Stock Up 3.1%

NXST stock opened at $169.97 on Friday. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $183.45 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $193.94. Nexstar Media Group, Inc. has a twelve month low of $154.47 and a twelve month high of $254.30. The firm has a market capitalization of $5.24 billion, a PE ratio of 32.62 and a beta of 0.90. The company has a quick ratio of 1.56, a current ratio of 1.56 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.09.

Nexstar Media Group (NASDAQ:NXST) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 6th. The company reported $3.61 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $5.98 by ($2.37). The firm had revenue of $1.99 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.97 billion. Nexstar Media Group had a net margin of 3.20% and a return on equity of 24.02%. Nexstar Media Group’s revenue was up 62.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $3.06 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts predict that Nexstar Media Group, Inc. will post 32.88 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Nexstar Media Group Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 28th. Investors of record on Friday, August 14th were given a $1.86 dividend. This represents a $7.44 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.4%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, August 14th. Nexstar Media Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 142.80%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Nexstar Media Group news, Director Bernadette S. Aulestia sold 300 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $186.80, for a total value of $56,040.00. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 4,383 shares in the company, valued at $818,744.40. This represents a 6.41% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Perry A. Sook purchased 12,235 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, June 26th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $162.26 per share, for a total transaction of $1,985,251.10. Following the acquisition, the chief executive officer owned 899,044 shares in the company, valued at approximately $145,878,879.44. This represents a 1.38% increase in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this purchase are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders have sold a total of 10,524 shares of company stock valued at $1,906,134 in the last ninety days. 7.00% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Nexstar Media Group Company Profile

Nexstar Media Group, Inc is a diversified American media company engaged primarily in the ownership, operation and strategic affiliation of local television stations, digital platforms and cable networks. The company provides a range of broadcast content, including local news, sports coverage, entertainment programming and syndicated shows, reaching audiences in more than 100 television markets across the United States.

Founded in 1996 by entrepreneur Perry Sook and headquartered in Irving, Texas, Nexstar has built its presence through organic growth and a series of high-profile acquisitions.