Xponance Inc. Buys 142 Shares of Nexstar Media Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:NXST)

Xponance Inc. grew its stake in shares of Nexstar Media Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:NXST) by 3.1% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 4,719 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 142 shares during the quarter. Xponance Inc.’s holdings in Nexstar Media Group were worth $745,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Natixis Advisors LLC increased its holdings in Nexstar Media Group by 1.2% during the third quarter. Natixis Advisors LLC now owns 10,185 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,684,000 after buying an additional 117 shares during the last quarter. Pathstone Holdings LLC grew its position in shares of Nexstar Media Group by 6.7% in the 3rd quarter. Pathstone Holdings LLC now owns 22,009 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,639,000 after acquiring an additional 1,388 shares during the period. Cerity Partners LLC increased its stake in shares of Nexstar Media Group by 99.7% during the 3rd quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 7,136 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,180,000 after purchasing an additional 3,563 shares during the last quarter. Dynamic Technology Lab Private Ltd bought a new stake in shares of Nexstar Media Group in the 3rd quarter valued at about $2,198,000. Finally, Loomis Sayles & Co. L P lifted its stake in Nexstar Media Group by 1.2% in the 3rd quarter. Loomis Sayles & Co. L P now owns 74,622 shares of the company’s stock valued at $12,339,000 after purchasing an additional 897 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 95.30% of the company’s stock.

Nexstar Media Group Trading Up 0.2 %

NXST stock opened at $177.40 on Tuesday. Nexstar Media Group, Inc. has a 52 week low of $146.04 and a 52 week high of $191.86. The company has a market capitalization of $5.41 billion, a PE ratio of 10.26, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.45 and a beta of 1.47. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $160.18 and its 200 day simple moving average is $164.12. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.98, a quick ratio of 1.68 and a current ratio of 1.68.

Nexstar Media Group (NASDAQ:NXST) last announced its 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). Nexstar Media Group had a return on equity of 26.03% and a net margin of 11.39%. The business had revenue of $1.49 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.48 billion. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Nexstar Media Group, Inc. will post 21.62 earnings per share for the current year.

Nexstar Media Group Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, February 26th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, February 12th were issued a $1.86 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, February 12th. This is a boost from Nexstar Media Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.69. This represents a $7.44 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.19%. Nexstar Media Group’s payout ratio is currently 34.56%.

Insider Activity

In related news, insider Gary Weitman sold 1,241 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $177.21, for a total transaction of $219,917.61. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 3,975 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $704,409.75. This represents a 23.79 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CEO Perry A. Sook sold 37,025 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 owns 674,694 shares in the company, valued at $108,045,497.16. The trade was a 5.20 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders sold 73,112 shares of company stock worth $12,085,893. 6.30% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have issued reports on NXST. StockNews.com lowered Nexstar Media Group from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, March 3rd. Rosenblatt Securities reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $200.00 price target on shares of Nexstar Media Group in a report on Monday, March 10th. Guggenheim lifted their price objective on shares of Nexstar Media Group from $210.00 to $220.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, February 28th. Loop Capital raised shares of Nexstar Media Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their price objective for the company from $190.00 to $200.00 in a research report on Friday, February 28th. Finally, Benchmark lifted their target price on shares of Nexstar Media Group from $200.00 to $225.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, February 28th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $208.43.

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.