Nexstar Media Group (NASDAQ:NXST) Trading Down 5.3% Following Analyst Downgrade

Shares of Nexstar Media Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:NXST) fell 5.3% on Tuesday after Zacks Research downgraded the stock from a hold rating to a strong sell rating. The company traded as low as $182.11 and last traded at $181.5810. Approximately 87,154 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 78% from the average daily volume of 390,848 shares. The stock had previously closed at $191.73.

Other equities analysts have also recently issued research reports about the company. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their target price on Nexstar Media Group from $253.00 to $249.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, August 7th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reduced their target price on shares of Nexstar Media Group from $270.00 to $255.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, May 11th. Wall Street Zen cut shares of Nexstar Media Group from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Sunday, July 12th. Barrington Research reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $290.00 price target on shares of Nexstar Media Group in a research report on Tuesday, April 28th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Nexstar Media Group in a research note on Wednesday, May 27th. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, one has issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Nexstar Media Group presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $259.00.

Insider Activity at Nexstar Media Group

In other news, insider Gary Weitman sold 261 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, June 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $170.81, for a total value of $44,581.41. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 6,963 shares in the company, valued at $1,189,350.03. This represents a 3.61% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. Also, insider Dana Zimmer sold 876 shares of Nexstar Media Group stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, June 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $170.81, for a total transaction of $149,629.56. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 5,800 shares in the company, valued at approximately $990,698. This represents a 13.12% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. Insiders sold a total of 22,813 shares of company stock valued at $4,174,731 over the last quarter. 7.00% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Sentinel Dome Partners LLC bought a new stake in Nexstar Media Group during the 4th quarter valued at $2,315,000. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in Nexstar Media Group by 1.7% in 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 during the last quarter. CPC Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of Nexstar Media Group by 114.3% in the first quarter. CPC Advisors LLC now owns 26,651 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,819,000 after acquiring an additional 14,217 shares during the period. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. raised its stake in shares of Nexstar Media Group by 3,648.3% during the fourth quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 64,995 shares of the company’s stock valued at $13,197,000 after acquiring an additional 63,261 shares during the last quarter. Finally, M&T Bank Corp boosted its holdings in shares of Nexstar Media Group by 2,573.4% during the fourth quarter. M&T Bank Corp now owns 140,112 shares of the company’s stock worth $28,494,000 after purchasing an additional 134,871 shares during the period. 95.30% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Nexstar Media Group Stock Up 0.3%

The company has a 50 day moving average of $179.59 and a 200-day moving average of $200.19. The company has a market capitalization of $5.70 billion, a P/E ratio of 35.54, a PEG ratio of 0.49 and a beta of 0.91. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.53, a current ratio of 1.76 and a quick ratio of 1.76.

Nexstar Media Group (NASDAQ:NXST) last released its quarterly 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 net margin of 3.20% and a return on equity of 24.26%. The company had revenue of $1.99 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.97 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $3.06 EPS. The business’s revenue was up 62.2% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Nexstar Media Group, Inc. will post 37.46 EPS for the current year.

Nexstar Media Group Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 28th. Investors of record on Friday, August 14th will be paid a dividend of $1.86 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, August 14th. This represents a $7.44 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.0%. Nexstar Media Group’s payout ratio is presently 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.