Nexstar Media Group (NASDAQ:NXST) Upgraded to “Hold” at Zacks Research

Zacks Research upgraded shares of Nexstar Media Group (NASDAQ:NXST) from a strong sell rating to a hold rating in a research note released on Tuesday morning,Zacks reports.

A number of other research firms also recently weighed in on NXST. Weiss Ratings raised Nexstar Media Group from a “hold (c)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a research report on Monday. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Nexstar Media Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Saturday, November 7th. Deutsche Bank cut their price objective on shares of Nexstar Media Group from $255.00 to $240.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, August 10th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on shares of Nexstar Media Group from $249.00 to $250.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, November 6th. Finally, Citigroup increased their target price on shares of Nexstar Media Group from $215.00 to $225.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $257.50.

Nexstar Media Group Stock Up 1.5%

NXST stock opened at $209.74 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 4.43, a current ratio of 1.26 and a quick ratio of 1.26. The stock has a market capitalization of $6.46 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.08 and a beta of 0.97. Nexstar Media Group has a fifty-two week low of $153.17 and a fifty-two week high of $254.30. The business has a 50-day moving average of $169.29 and a 200-day moving average of $191.62.

Nexstar Media Group (NASDAQ:NXST) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, November 5th. The company reported $7.92 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $8.08 by ($0.16). The firm had revenue of $2.13 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.07 billion. Nexstar Media Group had a net margin of 5.48% and a return on equity of 32.25%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 78.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $2.14 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Nexstar Media Group will post 33.33 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Nexstar Media Group Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 27th. Investors of record on Friday, November 13th will be given a dividend of $1.86 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 13th. This represents a $7.44 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.5%. Nexstar Media Group’s dividend payout ratio is 67.70%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Nexstar Media Group news, COO Michael Biard sold 2,465 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $185.82, for a total transaction of $458,046.30. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer owned 20,890 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,881,779.80. The trade was a 10.55% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. Also, insider Andrew Alford sold 2,823 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, September 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $165.69, for a total value of $467,742.87. Following the sale, the insider owned 11,726 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,942,880.94. This represents a 19.40% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders have sold 9,596 shares of company stock valued at $1,733,169 in the last ninety days. 7.00% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Nexstar Media Group

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in NXST. Janus Henderson Group PLC raised its position in Nexstar Media Group by 1.8% during the first quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 643,864 shares of the company’s stock worth $116,427,000 after acquiring an additional 11,477 shares in the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. grew its position in shares of Nexstar Media Group by 1.6% in the 1st quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 488,744 shares of the company’s stock valued at $88,381,000 after acquiring an additional 7,661 shares during the period. Advisors Asset Management Inc. bought a new position in shares of Nexstar Media Group in the 3rd quarter valued at about $47,578,000. Bank of America Corp DE increased its stake in shares of Nexstar Media Group by 17.0% during the 1st quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 173,269 shares of the company’s stock worth $31,332,000 after purchasing an additional 25,193 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Boston Partners increased its stake in shares of Nexstar Media Group by 480.4% during the 3rd quarter. Boston Partners now owns 174,435 shares of the company’s stock worth $28,109,000 after purchasing an additional 144,382 shares during the last quarter. 95.30% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

About Nexstar Media Group

Nexstar Media Group is a U.S. media company focused on local television broadcasting and national programming. It owns and operates local television stations across the country, many affiliated with major broadcast networks, and produces local news, sports, and other programming for viewers in their communities. The company also operates NewsNation, a national news and entertainment network, and holds a majority interest in The CW. Its digital businesses distribute news and other content online, while advertising and fees for carrying its stations and networks are among its business activities.