Nexstar Media Group, Inc. $NXST Stock: Hennessy Advisors Inc. Trims Position

Hennessy Advisors Inc. cut its stake in shares of Nexstar Media Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:NXST) by 3.1% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 168,200 shares of the company’s stock after selling 5,300 shares during the period. Nexstar Media Group makes up 1.0% of Hennessy Advisors Inc.’s holdings, making the stock its 26th biggest holding. Hennessy Advisors Inc. owned approximately 0.55% of Nexstar Media Group worth $27,176,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Bank of America Corp DE grew its holdings in shares of Nexstar Media Group by 17.0% in the first quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 173,269 shares of the company’s stock valued at $31,332,000 after purchasing an additional 25,193 shares in the last quarter. VIRGINIA RETIREMENT SYSTEMS ET Al acquired a new stake in Nexstar Media Group during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $1,607,000. Paralel Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Nexstar Media Group during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $2,285,000. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio purchased a new position in Nexstar Media Group in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $1,576,000. Finally, Odyssean LLC boosted its position in Nexstar Media Group by 188.6% in the 2nd quarter. Odyssean LLC now owns 17,036 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,042,000 after buying an additional 11,133 shares during the period. 95.30% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Nexstar Media Group Stock Performance

Shares of NXST opened at $171.44 on Monday. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $167.96 and its 200-day simple moving average is $192.48. The firm has a market cap of $5.28 billion, a PE ratio of 32.91 and a beta of 0.94. Nexstar Media Group, Inc. has a 12-month low of $153.17 and a 12-month high of $254.30. The company has a current ratio of 1.56, a quick ratio of 1.56 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.09.

Nexstar Media Group (NASDAQ:NXST) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 6th. The company reported $3.61 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $5.98 by ($2.37). Nexstar Media Group had a return on equity of 24.02% and a net margin of 3.20%. The company had revenue of $1.99 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.97 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $3.06 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 62.2% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts predict that Nexstar Media Group, Inc. will post 32.88 EPS for the current year.

Nexstar Media Group Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 27th. Investors of record on Friday, November 13th will be given a $1.86 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, November 13th. This represents a $7.44 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.3%. Nexstar Media Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 142.80%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, insider Andrew Alford sold 2,823 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, September 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $165.69, for a total transaction of $467,742.87. Following the transaction, the insider owned 11,726 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,942,880.94. This represents a 19.40% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, Director Bernadette Aulestia sold 300 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $186.80, for a total transaction of $56,040.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 4,383 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $818,744.40. This represents a 6.41% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders sold a total of 9,596 shares of company stock worth $1,733,169 over the last quarter. 7.00% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have weighed in on NXST. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reduced their price target on Nexstar Media Group from $255.00 to $240.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, August 10th. Wall Street Zen downgraded Nexstar Media Group from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Sunday, July 12th. Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Nexstar Media Group in a research note on Monday, August 24th. Zacks Research cut shares of Nexstar Media Group from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a report on Monday, August 10th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price target on shares of Nexstar Media Group from $253.00 to $249.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, August 7th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, one has assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $256.50.

About Nexstar Media Group

Nexstar Media Group, Inc is a television broadcasting and digital media company headquartered in Irving, Texas. The company operates local television stations across the United States, with stations affiliated with major networks including ABC, NBC, CBS, FOX, The CW and MyNetworkTV. Its local media operations provide news, weather, sports, entertainment and other programming to audiences in markets nationwide.

Nexstar also owns and operates national media properties, including NewsNation, a cable and streaming news network, and The Hill, a political news and information platform.