Citigroup Forecasts Strong Price Appreciation for Nexstar Media Group (NASDAQ:NXST) Stock

Nexstar Media Group (NASDAQ:NXST) had its price objective boosted by stock analysts at Citigroup from $215.00 to $225.00 in a research report issued to clients and investors on Monday, Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has a “buy” rating on the stock. Citigroup‘s target price points to a potential upside of 11.73% from the stock’s current price.

Several other brokerages have also weighed in on NXST. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lowered their target price on shares of Nexstar Media Group from $255.00 to $240.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, August 10th. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Nexstar Media Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Saturday. Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Nexstar Media Group in a report on Monday, August 24th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on shares of Nexstar Media Group from $249.00 to $250.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday. Finally, Zacks Research cut shares of Nexstar Media Group from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research report on Monday, August 10th. 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 stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $257.50.

Nexstar Media Group Trading Up 6.0%

NASDAQ:NXST traded up $11.37 on Monday, reaching $201.38. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 291,753 shares, compared to its average volume of 382,725. Nexstar Media Group has a 12-month low of $153.17 and a 12-month high of $254.30. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $167.80 and a 200 day moving average price of $191.75. The firm has a market cap of $6.21 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.30 and a beta of 0.97. The company has a quick ratio of 1.26, a current ratio of 1.26 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 4.43.

Nexstar Media Group (NASDAQ:NXST) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, November 5th. The company reported $7.92 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $8.08 by ($0.16). The business had revenue of $2.13 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.07 billion. Nexstar Media Group had a return on equity of 32.25% and a net margin of 5.48%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 78.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $2.14 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Nexstar Media Group will post 32.88 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Nexstar Media Group

In other Nexstar Media Group news, COO Michael Biard sold 2,465 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $185.82, for a total transaction of $458,046.30. Following the sale, the chief operating officer directly owned 20,890 shares in the company, valued at $3,881,779.80. This represents a 10.55% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. Also, Director Bernadette Aulestia sold 300 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $186.80, for a total transaction of $56,040.00. Following the sale, 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 SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders have sold 9,596 shares of company stock valued at $1,733,169 over the last three months. 7.00% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Nexstar Media Group

A number of hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in NXST. Croban increased its position in shares of Nexstar Media Group by 5.5% during the third quarter. Croban now owns 4,621 shares of the company’s stock worth $747,000 after acquiring an additional 239 shares during the period. King Luther Capital Management Corp boosted its holdings in Nexstar Media Group by 2.3% in the third quarter. King Luther Capital Management Corp now owns 31,666 shares of the company’s stock valued at $5,116,000 after purchasing an additional 707 shares during the period. Penn Capital Management Company LLC boosted its holdings in Nexstar Media Group by 15.0% in the third quarter. Penn Capital Management Company LLC now owns 101,941 shares of the company’s stock valued at $16,506,000 after purchasing an additional 13,264 shares during the period. AlphaCore Capital LLC acquired a new position in Nexstar Media Group during the 3rd quarter worth $258,000. Finally, Fulcrum Asset Management LLP grew its stake in Nexstar Media Group by 3,836.4% during the 3rd quarter. Fulcrum Asset Management LLP now owns 433 shares of the company’s stock worth $70,000 after purchasing an additional 422 shares in the last quarter. 95.30% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About Nexstar Media Group

Nexstar Media Group is a U.S. media company focused on local television broadcasting and national programming. It owns and operates local television stations across the country, many affiliated with major broadcast networks, and produces local news, sports, and other programming for viewers in their communities.

The company also operates NewsNation, a national news and entertainment network, and holds a majority interest in The CW. Its digital businesses distribute news and other content online, while advertising and fees for carrying its stations and networks are among its business activities.

Founded by Perry Sook in 1996 and headquartered in Irving, Texas, Nexstar expanded its station portfolio through acquisitions, including its 2019 acquisition of Tribune Media.