Insider Selling: Nexstar Media Group (NASDAQ:NXST) Insider Sells 2,823 Shares

Nexstar Media Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:NXST) insider Andrew Alford sold 2,823 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, September 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $165.69, for a total transaction of $467,742.87. Following the transaction, the insider owned 11,726 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,942,880.94. This trade represents a 19.40% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link.

Nexstar Media Group Price Performance

NASDAQ:NXST traded down $1.96 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, reaching $165.57. 341,463 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 389,577. The company has a quick ratio of 1.56, a current ratio of 1.56 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.09. The stock has a market cap of $5.10 billion, a PE ratio of 31.78 and a beta of 0.90. Nexstar Media Group, Inc. has a 12 month low of $154.47 and a 12 month high of $254.30. The company has a fifty day moving average of $181.52 and a 200 day moving average of $189.68.

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

Nexstar Media Group Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 28th. Investors of record on Friday, August 14th were issued 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 dividend yield of 4.5%. Nexstar Media Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 142.80%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

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

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in Nexstar Media Group by 1.7% in the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 773,443 shares of the company’s stock worth $157,114,000 after purchasing an additional 13,084 shares during the period. Janus Henderson Group PLC grew its holdings in shares of Nexstar Media Group by 1.8% in the 1st quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 643,864 shares of the company’s stock valued at $116,427,000 after buying an additional 11,477 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Nexstar Media Group by 1.6% in the 1st quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 488,744 shares of the company’s stock valued at $88,381,000 after buying an additional 7,661 shares during the period. Allianz Asset Management GmbH increased its position in shares of Nexstar Media Group by 28.4% in the 4th quarter. Allianz Asset Management GmbH now owns 358,762 shares of the company’s stock valued at $72,847,000 after buying an additional 79,426 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of Nexstar Media Group in the 4th quarter valued at $41,474,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 95.30% of the company’s stock.

About Nexstar Media Group

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.