Nexstar Media Group (NASDAQ:NXST) Hits New 12-Month High – Still a Buy?

Nexstar Media Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:NXST) hit a new 52-week high during trading on Thursday . The company traded as high as $191.32 and last traded at $190.76, with a volume of 31832 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $183.25.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts recently commented on NXST shares. Barrington Research reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $200.00 target price on shares of Nexstar Media Group in a research report on Thursday. Benchmark restated a “buy” rating and issued a $215.00 price objective on shares of Nexstar Media Group in a research report on Friday. Guggenheim lowered their price objective on Nexstar Media Group from $200.00 to $198.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, October 4th. StockNews.com upgraded Nexstar Media Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lowered their price objective on Nexstar Media Group from $207.00 to $205.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, August 9th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $198.50.

Nexstar Media Group Stock Down 11.9 %

The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $168.54 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $166.94. The company has a current ratio of 1.78, a quick ratio of 1.78 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.92. The company has a market cap of $5.36 billion, a PE ratio of 13.05, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.21 and a beta of 1.48.

Nexstar Media Group (NASDAQ:NXST) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, November 7th. The company reported $5.27 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $5.51 by ($0.24). The firm had revenue of $1.37 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.37 billion. Nexstar Media Group had a net margin of 8.68% and a return on equity of 18.65%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 20.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $0.70 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Nexstar Media Group, Inc. will post 25.72 earnings per share for the current year.

Nexstar Media Group Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 29th. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 15th will be issued a dividend of $1.69 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 15th. This represents a $6.76 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.07%. Nexstar Media Group’s dividend payout ratio is presently 53.14%.

Insider Transactions at Nexstar Media Group

In other news, Director Charles Thomas Mcmillen sold 250 shares of Nexstar Media Group stock in a transaction on Thursday, September 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $164.44, for a total transaction of $41,110.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 7,725 shares in the company, valued at $1,270,299. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. In related news, Director Charles Thomas Mcmillen sold 250 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, September 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $164.44, for a total value of $41,110.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 7,725 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,270,299. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, CFO Lee Ann Gliha sold 984 shares of Nexstar Media Group stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $157.63, for a total value of $155,107.92. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 8,107 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,277,906.41. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 41,112 shares of company stock worth $6,887,029 in the last quarter. Company insiders own 6.30% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Nexstar Media Group

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. BNP PARIBAS ASSET MANAGEMENT Holding S.A. boosted its holdings in Nexstar Media Group by 5.8% in the third quarter. BNP PARIBAS ASSET MANAGEMENT Holding S.A. now owns 111,905 shares of the company’s stock valued at $18,504,000 after purchasing an additional 6,101 shares in the last quarter. Payden & Rygel raised its stake in shares of Nexstar Media Group by 40.4% during the third quarter. Payden & Rygel now owns 110,200 shares of the company’s stock worth $18,222,000 after purchasing an additional 31,700 shares during the last quarter. Advisors Asset Management Inc. raised its stake in shares of Nexstar Media Group by 46.8% during the third quarter. Advisors Asset Management Inc. now owns 21,908 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,622,000 after purchasing an additional 6,984 shares during the last quarter. Pathstone Holdings LLC raised its stake in shares of Nexstar Media Group by 6.7% during the third quarter. Pathstone Holdings LLC now owns 22,009 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,639,000 after purchasing an additional 1,388 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Quest Partners LLC raised its stake in shares of Nexstar Media Group by 661.4% during the third quarter. Quest Partners LLC now owns 8,672 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,434,000 after purchasing an additional 7,533 shares during the last quarter. 95.30% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.