Zions Bancorporation N.A. Boosts Stock Position in Nexstar Media Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:NXST)

Zions Bancorporation N.A. increased its stake in shares of Nexstar Media Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:NXST) by 17.6% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 14,381 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 2,155 shares during the quarter. Zions Bancorporation N.A.’s holdings in Nexstar Media Group were worth $2,272,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. BNP Paribas Financial Markets boosted its position in shares of Nexstar Media Group by 67.8% during the 3rd quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 26,239 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,339,000 after acquiring an additional 10,603 shares during the last quarter. SGL Investment Advisors Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Nexstar Media Group in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $3,758,000. Holocene Advisors LP increased its holdings in shares of Nexstar Media Group by 680.9% during the 3rd quarter. Holocene Advisors LP now owns 17,219 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,847,000 after buying an additional 15,014 shares during the last quarter. KBC Group NV raised its position in shares of Nexstar Media Group by 1,801.8% during the 4th quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 17,230 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,722,000 after buying an additional 16,324 shares during the period. Finally, FORA Capital LLC purchased a new position in Nexstar Media Group in the third quarter worth approximately $712,000. 95.30% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Charles Thomas Mcmillen sold 2,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $169.51, for a total value of $339,020.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 4,975 shares in the company, valued at approximately $843,312.25. This trade represents a 28.67 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CEO Perry A. Sook sold 37,025 shares of Nexstar Media Group stock in a transaction on Thursday, December 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $160.14, for a total transaction of $5,929,183.50. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 674,694 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $108,045,497.16. This trade represents a 5.20 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 73,112 shares of company stock worth $12,085,893. 6.30% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Nexstar Media Group Trading Up 2.0 %

Shares of NXST stock opened at $181.00 on Wednesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $5.52 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.47, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.45 and a beta of 1.47. Nexstar Media Group, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $146.04 and a fifty-two week high of $191.86. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.98, a quick ratio of 1.68 and a current ratio of 1.68. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $160.76 and a 200 day moving average price of $164.26.

Nexstar Media Group (NASDAQ:NXST) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 27th. The company reported $7.56 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $9.22 by ($1.66). The business had revenue of $1.49 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.48 billion. Nexstar Media Group had a return on equity of 26.03% and a net margin of 11.39%. Equities research analysts predict that Nexstar Media Group, Inc. will post 21.62 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Nexstar Media Group Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, February 26th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, February 12th were given a $1.86 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, February 12th. This represents a $7.44 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.11%. This is a positive change from Nexstar Media Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.69. Nexstar Media Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 34.56%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts have recently commented on the company. Guggenheim upped their price target on Nexstar Media Group from $210.00 to $220.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, February 28th. Rosenblatt Securities reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $200.00 target price on shares of Nexstar Media Group in a research note on Monday, March 10th. Loop Capital raised shares of Nexstar Media Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their price target for the company from $190.00 to $200.00 in a research note on Friday, February 28th. Benchmark increased their price objective on shares of Nexstar Media Group from $200.00 to $225.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, February 28th. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded shares of Nexstar Media Group from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, March 3rd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $208.43.

Nexstar Media Group 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.