Royal Bank of Canada Has $9.42 Million Position in Nexstar Media Group, Inc. $NXST

Royal Bank of Canada cut its stake in shares of Nexstar Media Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:NXST) by 33.1% during the 1st quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 52,082 shares of the company’s stock after selling 25,805 shares during the period. Royal Bank of Canada’s holdings in Nexstar Media Group were worth $9,418,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors have also bought and sold shares of the stock. Sentinel Dome Partners LLC acquired a new position in shares of Nexstar Media Group during the fourth quarter valued at about $2,315,000. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Nexstar Media Group by 1.7% in the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 773,443 shares of the company’s stock valued at $157,114,000 after buying an additional 13,084 shares during the period. CPC Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of Nexstar Media Group by 114.3% in the 1st quarter. CPC Advisors LLC now owns 26,651 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,819,000 after buying an additional 14,217 shares during the period. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. increased its position in Nexstar Media Group by 3,648.3% in the 4th quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 64,995 shares of the company’s stock valued at $13,197,000 after buying an additional 63,261 shares in the last quarter. Finally, M&T Bank Corp increased its position in Nexstar Media Group by 2,573.4% in the 4th quarter. M&T Bank Corp now owns 140,112 shares of the company’s stock valued at $28,494,000 after buying an additional 134,871 shares in the last quarter. 95.30% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

NXST has been the topic of several recent research reports. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price target on Nexstar Media Group from $253.00 to $249.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft decreased their price objective on Nexstar Media Group from $270.00 to $255.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Monday, May 11th. Wall Street Zen cut Nexstar Media Group from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Sunday, July 12th. Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Nexstar Media Group in a research report on Wednesday, May 27th. Finally, Zacks Research lowered shares of Nexstar Media Group from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, July 10th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $259.00.

Nexstar Media Group Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:NXST opened at $193.78 on Monday. The business’s 50 day moving average is $179.31 and its 200 day moving average is $200.77. Nexstar Media Group, Inc. has a 12-month low of $154.47 and a 12-month high of $254.30. The stock has a market cap of $5.92 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 37.19, a PEG ratio of 0.52 and a beta of 0.91. The company has a quick ratio of 1.76, a current ratio of 1.76 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.53.

Nexstar Media Group (NASDAQ:NXST) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 6th. The company reported $3.61 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $5.98 by ($2.37). Nexstar Media Group had a net margin of 3.20% and a return on equity of 24.26%. The company had revenue of $1.99 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.97 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $3.06 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 62.2% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Nexstar Media Group, Inc. will post 37.46 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Nexstar Media Group Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 28th. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 14th will be paid a $1.86 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, August 14th. This represents a $7.44 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.8%. Nexstar Media Group’s dividend payout ratio is presently 142.80%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, EVP Blake Russell sold 261 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, June 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $170.81, for a total transaction of $44,581.41. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 28,296 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,833,239.76. This trade represents a 0.91% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. Also, insider Gary Weitman sold 261 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, June 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $170.81, for a total transaction of $44,581.41. Following the transaction, the insider owned 6,963 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,189,350.03. This trade represents a 3.61% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. Insiders have sold a total of 22,813 shares of company stock valued at $4,174,731 over the last 90 days. 7.00% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Nexstar Media Group Profile

Nexstar Media Group, Inc is a diversified American media company engaged primarily in the ownership, operation and strategic affiliation of local television stations, digital platforms and cable networks. The company provides a range of broadcast content, including local news, sports coverage, entertainment programming and syndicated shows, reaching audiences in more than 100 television markets across the United States.

Founded in 1996 by entrepreneur Perry Sook and headquartered in Irving, Texas, Nexstar has built its presence through organic growth and a series of high-profile acquisitions.