Nexstar Media Group (NASDAQ:NXST) Releases Quarterly Earnings Results, Misses Estimates By $1.66 EPS

Nexstar Media Group (NASDAQ:NXST) announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday. The company reported $7.56 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $9.22 by ($1.66), Zacks reports. Nexstar Media Group had a return on equity of 26.03% and a net margin of 11.39%. The company had revenue of $1.49 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.48 billion.

Nexstar Media Group Trading Up 5.0 %

Shares of NASDAQ:NXST traded up $8.21 on Friday, reaching $170.79. 362,399 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 317,574. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $155.08 and its 200 day simple moving average is $163.29. The company has a current ratio of 1.68, a quick ratio of 1.68 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.98. Nexstar Media Group has a 52 week low of $146.04 and a 52 week high of $191.86. The stock has a market capitalization of $5.30 billion, a P/E ratio of 9.88, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.45 and a beta of 1.45.

Nexstar Media Group Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, February 26th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, February 12th were paid a dividend of $1.86 per share. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, February 12th. This represents a $7.44 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.36%. This is a positive change from Nexstar Media Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.69. Nexstar Media Group’s payout ratio is 43.03%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have commented on NXST. Barrington Research reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $200.00 target price on shares of Nexstar Media Group in a research report on Thursday. Guggenheim increased their target price on shares of Nexstar Media Group from $210.00 to $220.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday. Benchmark increased their price objective on Nexstar Media Group from $200.00 to $225.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday. Loop Capital upgraded Nexstar Media Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their target price for the company from $190.00 to $200.00 in a research note on Friday. Finally, StockNews.com raised Nexstar Media Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, November 8th. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $210.29.

Insider Transactions at Nexstar Media Group

In other news, CEO Perry A. Sook sold 52,808 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, December 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $157.41, for a total value of $8,312,507.28. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 674,694 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $106,203,582.54. This represents a 7.26 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director Charles Thomas Mcmillen sold 750 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, December 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $159.93, for a total transaction of $119,947.50. Following the sale, the director now owns 6,975 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,115,511.75. The trade was a 9.71 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 127,493 shares of company stock worth $20,354,366. Company insiders own 6.30% of the company’s stock.

Nexstar Media Group Company Profile

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.