Cornerstone Investment Partners LLC Raises Holdings in Nexstar Media Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:NXST)

Cornerstone Investment Partners LLC increased its position in Nexstar Media Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:NXST) by 26.6% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 2,882 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 605 shares during the quarter. Cornerstone Investment Partners LLC’s holdings in Nexstar Media Group were worth $452,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. BlackRock Inc. raised its position in shares of Nexstar Media Group by 0.8% in the 1st quarter. BlackRock Inc. now owns 3,397,336 shares of the company’s stock worth $586,584,000 after buying an additional 27,714 shares during the period. State Street Corp increased its holdings in Nexstar Media Group by 0.5% in the 1st quarter. State Street Corp now owns 1,038,998 shares of the company’s stock valued at $179,393,000 after purchasing an additional 5,325 shares in the last quarter. Morgan Stanley increased its holdings in Nexstar Media Group by 2.9% in the 3rd quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 1,014,676 shares of the company’s stock valued at $145,474,000 after purchasing an additional 28,975 shares in the last quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. increased its holdings in Nexstar Media Group by 9.2% in the 1st quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 716,393 shares of the company’s stock valued at $135,026,000 after purchasing an additional 60,217 shares in the last quarter. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased its holdings in Nexstar Media Group by 44.3% in the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 607,631 shares of the company’s stock valued at $87,116,000 after purchasing an additional 186,486 shares in the last quarter. 95.30% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts recently issued reports on NXST shares. Rosenblatt Securities lowered their price target on Nexstar Media Group from $216.00 to $213.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, March 13th. TheStreet upgraded Nexstar Media Group from a “c+” rating to a “b-” rating in a report on Thursday, February 1st. Finally, Barrington Research restated an “outperform” rating and set a $200.00 target price on shares of Nexstar Media Group in a research note on Thursday, March 7th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Nexstar Media Group presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $193.83.

Nexstar Media Group Stock Up 0.7 %

NASDAQ:NXST traded up $1.21 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $163.17. The stock had a trading volume of 47,085 shares, compared to its average volume of 345,826. The company has a market capitalization of $5.45 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.82, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.59 and a beta of 1.50. Nexstar Media Group, Inc. has a 1-year low of $132.30 and a 1-year high of $187.32. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $165.78 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $158.04. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.90, a current ratio of 1.53 and a quick ratio of 1.53.

Nexstar Media Group (NASDAQ:NXST) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 28th. The company reported $3.32 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.42 by ($1.10). The firm had revenue of $1.30 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.32 billion. Nexstar Media Group had a return on equity of 14.06% and a net margin of 7.03%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 12.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $8.04 earnings per share. Equities analysts anticipate that Nexstar Media Group, Inc. will post 26.73 EPS for the current year.

Nexstar Media Group Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 23rd. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 9th were issued a $1.69 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, February 8th. This represents a $6.76 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.14%. This is a boost from Nexstar Media Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.35. Nexstar Media Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 70.20%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Nexstar Media Group news, CEO Perry A. Sook sold 31,758 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $158.66, for a total value of $5,038,724.28. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 636,788 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $101,032,784.08. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In other Nexstar Media Group news, CEO Perry A. Sook sold 31,758 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $158.66, for a total value of $5,038,724.28. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 636,788 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $101,032,784.08. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director Dennis J. Fitzsimons sold 2,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $170.82, for a total transaction of $341,640.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 12,027 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,054,452.14. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 46,508 shares of company stock valued at $7,487,950 over the last quarter. Insiders own 5.90% of the company’s stock.

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.