Nexstar Media Group (NASDAQ:NXST) Trading Up 4.4% – Here’s What Happened

Nexstar Media Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:NXST) shares rose 4.4% during trading on Thursday . The company traded as high as $170.90 and last traded at $172.1510. 47,241 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 88% from the average daily volume of 384,067 shares. The stock had previously closed at $164.91.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts recently commented on NXST shares. Zacks Research downgraded Nexstar Media Group from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research note on Monday, August 10th. Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Nexstar Media Group in a research note on Monday, August 24th. Wall Street Zen downgraded Nexstar Media Group from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Sunday, July 12th. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price target on Nexstar Media Group from $253.00 to $249.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, August 7th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft cut their price objective on Nexstar Media Group from $255.00 to $240.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, August 10th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, one has assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Nexstar Media Group has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $256.50.

Nexstar Media Group Trading Down 0.5%

The stock has a market cap of $5.21 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 32.45 and a beta of 0.90. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $183.21 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $193.76. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.09, a quick ratio of 1.56 and a current ratio of 1.56.

Nexstar Media Group (NASDAQ:NXST) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 6th. The company reported $3.61 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $5.98 by ($2.37). The business had revenue of $1.99 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates 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 for the quarter was up 62.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $3.06 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts forecast that Nexstar Media Group, Inc. will post 32.88 EPS for the current year.

Nexstar Media Group Announces Dividend

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

Insider Transactions at Nexstar Media Group

In other news, EVP Lee Ann Gliha sold 373 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, June 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $170.81, for a total transaction of $63,712.13. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 20,075 shares in the company, valued at $3,429,010.75. This represents a 1.82% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. Also, CEO Perry A. Sook acquired 12,235 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, June 26th. The stock was bought at an average price of $162.26 per share, with a total value of $1,985,251.10. Following the acquisition, the chief executive officer directly owned 899,044 shares in the company, valued at $145,878,879.44. This represents a 1.38% increase in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this purchase provides additional information. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 10,524 shares of company stock worth $1,906,134. 7.00% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. California State Teachers Retirement System increased its position in shares of Nexstar Media Group by 17,529.4% during the 2nd quarter. California State Teachers Retirement System now owns 5,924,366 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,058,033,000 after purchasing an additional 5,890,761 shares during the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its holdings in shares of Nexstar Media Group by 0.8% in the 4th quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,402,272 shares of the company’s stock valued at $284,738,000 after buying an additional 10,949 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Nexstar Media Group by 2.0% in the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,181,727 shares of the company’s stock valued at $239,950,000 after buying an additional 23,360 shares during the last quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. grew its stake in shares of Nexstar Media Group by 27.1% in the second quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. now owns 882,322 shares of the company’s stock valued at $152,598,000 after buying an additional 187,864 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Nexstar Media Group by 1.7% in the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 773,443 shares of the company’s stock valued at $157,114,000 after buying an additional 13,084 shares in the last quarter. 95.30% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Nexstar Media Group Company Profile

Nexstar Media Group, Inc is a diversified American media company that owns and operates local television stations and digital media platforms across the United States. Its stations provide locally produced news, weather, sports and community programming, while also carrying programming from major broadcast networks, including ABC, CBS, NBC, FOX and The CW, depending on the market.

The company also operates NewsNation, a national cable news and information network, and develops digital content and advertising solutions through its online properties.