Nexstar Media Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:NXST) Given Average Recommendation of “Buy” by Brokerages

Shares of Nexstar Media Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:NXST) have been assigned a consensus rating of “Buy” from the eight ratings firms that are currently covering the firm, MarketBeat.com reports. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold recommendation, six have assigned a buy recommendation and one has assigned a strong buy recommendation to the company. The average 1-year target price among brokers that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $259.6667.

A number of brokerages have issued reports on NXST. Barrington Research restated an “outperform” rating and set a $290.00 target price on shares of Nexstar Media Group in a research report on Tuesday, April 28th. Zacks Research upgraded shares of Nexstar Media Group from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 13th. Guggenheim increased their target price on shares of Nexstar Media Group from $250.00 to $290.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, February 27th. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their target price on shares of Nexstar Media Group from $290.00 to $253.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, May 8th. Finally, Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Nexstar Media Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Saturday.

Nexstar Media Group Price Performance

Shares of NXST opened at $195.39 on Monday. Nexstar Media Group has a 52 week low of $164.00 and a 52 week high of $254.30. The firm has a market cap of $5.97 billion, a P/E ratio of 41.93, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.59 and a beta of 0.97. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $208.01 and its 200 day simple moving average is $208.21. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.53, a quick ratio of 1.76 and a current ratio of 1.76.

Nexstar Media Group Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 29th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 15th will be given a dividend of $1.86 per share. This represents a $7.44 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.8%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 15th. Nexstar Media Group’s dividend payout ratio is presently 159.66%.

Institutional Trading of Nexstar Media Group

Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its position in shares of Nexstar Media Group by 0.8% during the 4th quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,402,272 shares of the company’s stock worth $284,738,000 after acquiring an additional 10,949 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its position in shares of Nexstar Media Group by 2.0% during the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,181,727 shares of the company’s stock worth $239,950,000 after acquiring an additional 23,360 shares in the last quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. boosted its position in shares of Nexstar Media Group by 27.1% during the 2nd quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. now owns 882,322 shares of the company’s stock worth $152,598,000 after acquiring an additional 187,864 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Nexstar Media Group by 1.7% during the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 773,443 shares of the company’s stock worth $157,114,000 after acquiring an additional 13,084 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA boosted its position in shares of Nexstar Media Group by 13.3% during the 3rd quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 642,609 shares of the company’s stock worth $127,070,000 after acquiring an additional 75,228 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 95.30% of the company’s stock.

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.