Dennis J. Fitzsimons Sells 2,000 Shares of Nexstar Media Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:NXST) Stock

Nexstar Media Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:NXST) Director Dennis J. Fitzsimons sold 2,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $170.82, for a total transaction of $341,640.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 12,027 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,054,452.14. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website.

Nexstar Media Group Stock Performance

NASDAQ NXST traded up $0.75 during trading hours on Thursday, reaching $172.64. 34,911 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 378,108. Nexstar Media Group, Inc. has a 1 year low of $132.30 and a 1 year high of $187.32. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $168.34 and its 200-day simple moving average is $155.83. The company has a quick ratio of 1.53, a current ratio of 1.53 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.90. The stock has a market capitalization of $5.77 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.85, a P/E/G ratio of 0.63 and a beta of 1.51.

Nexstar Media Group (NASDAQ:NXST) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 28th. The company reported $3.32 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.42 by ($1.10). Nexstar Media Group had a return on equity of 14.06% and a net margin of 7.03%. The company had revenue of $1.30 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.32 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $8.04 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was down 12.3% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts expect that Nexstar Media Group, Inc. will post 26.73 earnings per share for the current year.

Nexstar Media Group Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 23rd. Investors of record on Friday, February 9th were issued a dividend of $1.69 per share. This represents a $6.76 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.92%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, February 8th. This is an increase from Nexstar Media Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.35. Nexstar Media Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 70.20%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

NXST has been the subject of a number of research reports. Barrington Research restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $200.00 price target on shares of Nexstar Media Group in a report on Thursday, March 7th. Citigroup initiated coverage on shares of Nexstar Media Group in a research report on Friday, December 8th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $158.00 price target on the stock. Rosenblatt Securities dropped their price target on shares of Nexstar Media Group from $216.00 to $213.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, March 13th. Finally, TheStreet raised shares of Nexstar Media Group from a “c+” rating to a “b-” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 1st. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Nexstar Media Group currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $193.83.

Institutional Trading of Nexstar Media Group

A number of large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in NXST. Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. purchased a new stake in Nexstar Media Group during the first quarter worth about $26,000. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC increased its holdings in Nexstar Media Group by 632.1% during the fourth quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 205 shares of the company’s stock worth $32,000 after buying an additional 177 shares during the last quarter. First United Bank & Trust purchased a new position in shares of Nexstar Media Group in the fourth quarter worth about $33,000. SRS Capital Advisors Inc. increased its stake in shares of Nexstar Media Group by 350.9% in the fourth quarter. SRS Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 239 shares of the company’s stock worth $37,000 after purchasing an additional 186 shares in the last quarter. Finally, OLD Second National Bank of Aurora purchased a new position in shares of Nexstar Media Group in the fourth quarter worth about $45,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 95.30% 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.