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

Shares of Nexstar Media Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:NXST) have received a consensus recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the five ratings firms that are currently covering the firm, Marketbeat.com reports. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and three have assigned a buy recommendation to the company. The average 12-month price target among brokers that have covered the stock in the last year is $193.83.

NXST has been the topic of several research reports. TheStreet raised shares of Nexstar Media Group from a “c+” rating to a “b-” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 1st. Barrington Research reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $200.00 price target on shares of Nexstar Media Group in a research report on Thursday, March 7th. Finally, Rosenblatt Securities reduced their price target on shares of Nexstar Media Group from $216.00 to $213.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, March 13th.

Nexstar Media Group Trading Down 1.9 %

NASDAQ NXST opened at $160.98 on Friday. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $165.53 and its two-hundred day moving average is $158.95. Nexstar Media Group has a 12 month low of $132.30 and a 12 month high of $187.32. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.90, a current ratio of 1.53 and a quick ratio of 1.53. The stock has a market capitalization of $5.38 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.72, a PEG ratio of 0.61 and a beta of 1.50.

Nexstar Media Group (NASDAQ:NXST) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, February 28th. The company reported $3.32 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.42 by ($1.10). Nexstar Media Group had a net margin of 7.03% and a return on equity of 14.06%. The company had revenue of $1.30 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.32 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $8.04 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was down 12.3% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Nexstar Media Group will post 26.73 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity at Nexstar Media Group

In related news, CEO Perry A. Sook sold 31,758 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $158.66, for a total value of $5,038,724.28. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 636,788 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $101,032,784.08. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In related news, CEO Perry A. Sook sold 31,758 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $158.66, for a total value of $5,038,724.28. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 636,788 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $101,032,784.08. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director Lisbeth Mcnabb sold 2,300 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $165.00, for a total transaction of $379,500.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 12,727 shares in the company, valued at $2,099,955. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 46,508 shares of company stock valued at $7,487,950 over the last 90 days. 5.90% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Nexstar Media Group

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in NXST. Channing Capital Management LLC increased its stake in Nexstar Media Group by 738.8% in the third quarter. Channing Capital Management LLC now owns 506,212 shares of the company’s stock valued at $72,576,000 after purchasing an additional 445,859 shares during the last quarter. Point72 Asset Management L.P. increased its stake in Nexstar Media Group by 392.6% in the fourth quarter. Point72 Asset Management L.P. now owns 450,351 shares of the company’s stock valued at $70,593,000 after purchasing an additional 358,920 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new position in Nexstar Media Group in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $51,812,000. Boston Financial Mangement LLC increased its stake in Nexstar Media Group by 156.5% in the third quarter. Boston Financial Mangement LLC now owns 238,670 shares of the company’s stock valued at $34,218,000 after purchasing an additional 145,617 shares during the last quarter. Finally, International Assets Investment Management LLC grew its position in shares of Nexstar Media Group by 15,107.2% during the fourth quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 122,570 shares of the company’s stock worth $19,213,000 after acquiring an additional 121,764 shares during the last quarter. 95.30% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.