Nexstar Media Group (NASDAQ:NXST) Price Target Raised to $220.00 at Guggenheim

Nexstar Media Group (NASDAQ:NXST - Free Report) had its price target boosted by Guggenheim from $210.00 to $220.00 in a research report sent to investors on Friday,Benzinga reports. They currently have a buy rating on the stock.

Several other brokerages have also weighed in on NXST. Barrington Research restated an "outperform" rating and set a $200.00 target price on shares of Nexstar Media Group in a research report on Thursday, February 27th. Benchmark reissued a "buy" rating and set a $215.00 price target on shares of Nexstar Media Group in a research note on Friday, November 8th. Loop Capital raised Nexstar Media Group from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and raised their price objective for the company from $190.00 to $200.00 in a research note on Friday. Finally, StockNews.com raised Nexstar Media Group from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, November 8th. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Nexstar Media Group has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $210.29.

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Nexstar Media Group Price Performance

Shares of NXST traded down $3.21 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $169.75. The company's stock had a trading volume of 621,212 shares, compared to its average volume of 357,883. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $155.59 and a 200 day simple moving average of $163.55. Nexstar Media Group has a 1-year low of $146.04 and a 1-year high of $191.86. The firm has a market capitalization of $5.27 billion, a P/E ratio of 9.82, a P/E/G ratio of 0.45 and a beta of 1.45. The company has a current ratio of 1.68, a quick ratio of 1.68 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.98.

Nexstar Media Group (NASDAQ:NXST - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Thursday, February 27th. The company reported $7.56 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $9.22 by ($1.66). Nexstar Media Group had a net margin of 11.39% and a return on equity of 26.03%. The business had revenue of $1.49 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.48 billion. Analysts predict that Nexstar Media Group will post 21.62 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Nexstar Media Group Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, February 26th. Investors of record on Wednesday, February 12th were paid a $1.86 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, February 12th. This represents a $7.44 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.38%. This is a positive change from Nexstar Media Group's previous quarterly dividend of $1.69. Nexstar Media Group's dividend payout ratio is presently 34.56%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Nexstar Media Group

In related news, Director Lisbeth Mcnabb sold 875 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, December 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $172.00, for a total transaction of $150,500.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 5,752 shares of the company's stock, valued at $989,344. This trade represents a 13.20 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Bernadette S. Aulestia sold 500 shares of Nexstar Media Group stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, December 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $164.45, for a total value of $82,225.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 2,000 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $328,900. This represents a 20.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 127,493 shares of company stock worth $20,354,366. 6.30% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Nexstar Media Group

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in NXST. Pacer Advisors Inc. boosted its stake in Nexstar Media Group by 27,180.2% in the 4th quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 1,206,877 shares of the company's stock worth $190,650,000 after buying an additional 1,202,453 shares during the last quarter. Demars Financial Group LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Nexstar Media Group by 16,009.5% during the 4th quarter. Demars Financial Group LLC now owns 773,737 shares of the company's stock worth $122,227,000 after acquiring an additional 768,934 shares during the period. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Nexstar Media Group in the fourth quarter worth approximately $44,460,000. Proficio Capital Partners LLC purchased a new stake in Nexstar Media Group in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $35,560,000. Finally, Invesco Ltd. grew its holdings in Nexstar Media Group by 185.0% in the fourth quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 219,561 shares of the company's stock valued at $34,684,000 after purchasing an additional 142,520 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 95.30% of the company's stock.

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.