Wells Fargo & Company Has Lowered Expectations for Nexstar Media Group (NASDAQ:NXST) Stock Price

Nexstar Media Group (NASDAQ:NXST) had its price target cut by equities research analysts at Wells Fargo & Company from $216.00 to $200.00 in a research report issued to clients and investors on Thursday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has an “overweight” rating on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company‘s price objective points to a potential upside of 31.01% from the company’s previous close.

Other equities analysts have also recently issued research reports about the stock. Benchmark boosted their price target on shares of Nexstar Media Group from $200.00 to $225.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, February 28th. Guggenheim lifted their price target on Nexstar Media Group from $210.00 to $220.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, February 28th. StockNews.com lowered Nexstar Media Group from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, March 3rd. Rosenblatt Securities reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $200.00 target price on shares of Nexstar Media Group in a research report on Monday, March 10th. Finally, Barrington Research restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $200.00 price objective on shares of Nexstar Media Group in a report on Wednesday, March 5th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $207.14.

Nexstar Media Group Stock Up 5.5 %

Shares of NASDAQ:NXST opened at $152.66 on Thursday. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $163.01 and its 200 day moving average is $162.60. The company has a market cap of $4.66 billion, a PE ratio of 8.83, a P/E/G ratio of 0.45 and a beta of 1.09. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.98, a current ratio of 1.68 and a quick ratio of 1.68. Nexstar Media Group has a 1 year low of $141.66 and a 1 year high of $191.86.

Nexstar Media Group (NASDAQ:NXST) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, February 27th. The company reported $7.56 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $9.22 by ($1.66). The business had revenue of $1.49 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.48 billion. Nexstar Media Group had a net margin of 11.39% and a return on equity of 26.03%. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Nexstar Media Group will post 21.62 EPS for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CEO Perry A. Sook sold 32,096 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $170.67, for a total value of $5,477,824.32. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 806,019 shares in the company, valued at approximately $137,563,262.73. This trade represents a 3.83 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Charles Thomas Mcmillen sold 2,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $169.51, for a total value of $339,020.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 4,975 shares in the company, valued at $843,312.25. The trade was a 28.67 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 39,105 shares of company stock valued at $6,722,463. Insiders own 6.30% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Nexstar Media Group

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. purchased a new stake in shares of Nexstar Media Group during the 4th quarter valued at about $25,000. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB purchased a new stake in Nexstar Media Group during the third quarter valued at approximately $33,000. Whipplewood Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of Nexstar Media Group by 830.3% during the 1st quarter. Whipplewood Advisors LLC now owns 307 shares of the company’s stock valued at $55,000 after acquiring an additional 274 shares during the period. First Horizon Advisors Inc. increased its stake in shares of Nexstar Media Group by 62.3% in the 1st quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc. now owns 401 shares of the company’s stock worth $72,000 after purchasing an additional 154 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Versant Capital Management Inc raised its holdings in Nexstar Media Group by 2,126.3% in the 1st quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 423 shares of the company’s stock worth $76,000 after purchasing an additional 404 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 95.30% 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.