Jefferies Financial Group Inc. Invests $2.09 Million in Nexstar Media Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:NXST)

Jefferies Financial Group Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Nexstar Media Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:NXST) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm acquired 13,205 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,086,000.

Several other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in NXST. Pacer Advisors Inc. increased its position in Nexstar Media Group by 27,180.2% during the 4th quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 1,206,877 shares of the company’s stock valued at $190,650,000 after purchasing an additional 1,202,453 shares during the period. Demars Financial Group LLC grew its stake in shares of Nexstar Media Group by 16,009.5% in the fourth quarter. Demars Financial Group LLC now owns 773,737 shares of the company’s stock worth $122,227,000 after acquiring an additional 768,934 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of Nexstar Media Group in the fourth quarter worth $44,460,000. Proficio Capital Partners LLC purchased a new stake in Nexstar Media Group during the 4th quarter valued at about $35,560,000. Finally, Invesco Ltd. grew its position in Nexstar Media Group by 185.0% during the 4th quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 219,561 shares of the company’s stock valued at $34,684,000 after purchasing an additional 142,520 shares during the last quarter. 95.30% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at Nexstar Media Group

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have commented on the company. Loop Capital upgraded Nexstar Media Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their target price for the company from $190.00 to $200.00 in a research note on Friday, February 28th. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Nexstar Media Group from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, March 3rd. Rosenblatt Securities reissued a “buy” rating and set a $200.00 price objective on shares of Nexstar Media Group in a report on Monday, March 10th. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their target price on Nexstar Media Group from $216.00 to $200.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. Finally, Benchmark decreased their target price on shares of Nexstar Media Group from $225.00 to $215.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, May 6th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $205.71.

Nexstar Media Group Price Performance

NASDAQ NXST opened at $174.42 on Wednesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $5.32 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.09, a P/E/G ratio of 0.45 and a beta of 1.06. Nexstar Media Group, Inc. has a 12-month low of $141.66 and a 12-month high of $191.86. The company has a current ratio of 1.68, a quick ratio of 1.68 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.98. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $162.53 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $162.14.

Nexstar Media Group (NASDAQ:NXST) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, May 8th. The company reported $3.37 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.26 by $0.11. The firm had revenue of $1.23 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.23 billion. Nexstar Media Group had a return on equity of 26.03% and a net margin of 11.39%. Nexstar Media Group’s revenue for the quarter was down 3.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $5.16 earnings per share. Analysts forecast that Nexstar Media Group, Inc. will post 21.62 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Nexstar Media Group Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 2nd. Shareholders of record on Monday, May 19th will be issued a $1.86 dividend. This represents a $7.44 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.27%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, May 19th. Nexstar Media Group’s payout ratio is 37.69%.

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.