Brokerages Set Nexstar Media Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:NXST) Target Price at $259.00

Nexstar Media Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:NXST) has earned a consensus recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the eight analysts that are presently covering the firm, Marketbeat.com reports. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation, one has given a hold recommendation and six have issued a buy recommendation on the company. The average 12 month price objective among analysts that have covered the stock in the last year is $259.00.

NXST has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lowered their price objective on Nexstar Media Group from $270.00 to $255.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, May 11th. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price target on Nexstar Media Group from $253.00 to $249.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, August 7th. Wall Street Zen lowered Nexstar Media Group from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Sunday, July 12th. Barrington Research reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $290.00 price target on shares of Nexstar Media Group in a research report on Tuesday, April 28th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Nexstar Media Group in a report on Wednesday, May 27th.

Insider Activity at Nexstar Media Group

In other news, COO Michael Biard sold 2,465 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $185.82, for a total value of $458,046.30. Following the sale, the chief operating officer directly owned 20,890 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,881,779.80. The trade was a 10.55% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. Also, insider Dana Zimmer sold 4,008 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, August 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $187.46, for a total value of $751,339.68. Following the transaction, the insider owned 1,792 shares in the company, valued at $335,928.32. This trade represents a 69.10% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders have sold 20,191 shares of company stock valued at $3,634,741 over the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 7.00% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Nexstar Media Group

Several large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC purchased a new position in shares of Nexstar Media Group in the 1st quarter valued at about $499,000. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. raised its holdings in Nexstar Media Group by 49.4% in the first quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 15,870 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,844,000 after acquiring an additional 5,251 shares in the last quarter. Millennium Management LLC lifted its stake in Nexstar Media Group by 571.4% in the first quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 72,650 shares of the company’s stock worth $13,020,000 after acquiring an additional 61,830 shares during the last quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC lifted its stake in Nexstar Media Group by 14.3% in the first quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 132,809 shares of the company’s stock worth $23,802,000 after acquiring an additional 16,637 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Acadian Asset Management LLC acquired a new position in Nexstar Media Group during the 1st quarter worth approximately $654,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 95.30% of the company’s stock.

Nexstar Media Group Stock Up 1.7%

NXST stock opened at $189.39 on Wednesday. The company has a current ratio of 1.56, a quick ratio of 1.56 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.09. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $181.49 and a two-hundred day moving average of $198.71. Nexstar Media Group has a 12 month low of $154.47 and a 12 month high of $254.30. The company has a market cap of $5.84 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 36.35 and a beta of 0.91.

Nexstar Media Group (NASDAQ:NXST) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, August 6th. The company reported $3.61 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate 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 for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.97 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $3.06 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 62.2% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts forecast that Nexstar Media Group will post 32.88 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Nexstar Media Group Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 28th. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 14th will be issued a dividend of $1.86 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, August 14th. This represents a $7.44 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.9%. Nexstar Media Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 142.80%.

Nexstar Media Group Company Profile

Nexstar Media Group, Inc is a diversified American media company engaged primarily in the ownership, operation and strategic affiliation of local television stations, digital platforms and cable networks. The company provides a range of broadcast content, including local news, sports coverage, entertainment programming and syndicated shows, reaching audiences in more than 100 television markets across the United States.

Founded in 1996 by entrepreneur Perry Sook and headquartered in Irving, Texas, Nexstar has built its presence through organic growth and a series of high-profile acquisitions.