Loomis Sayles & Co. L P Boosts Position in Nexstar Media Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:NXST)

Loomis Sayles & Co. L P lifted its holdings in Nexstar Media Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:NXST - Free Report) by 4.0% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 77,631 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 3,009 shares during the period. Loomis Sayles & Co. L P owned approximately 0.25% of Nexstar Media Group worth $12,263,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Brooklyn Investment Group purchased a new position in Nexstar Media Group in the third quarter worth approximately $25,000. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. acquired a new stake in Nexstar Media Group during the fourth quarter worth approximately $25,000. True Wealth Design LLC purchased a new stake in Nexstar Media Group in the third quarter valued at $30,000. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB purchased a new stake in shares of Nexstar Media Group in the 3rd quarter valued at about $33,000. Finally, Jones Financial Companies Lllp increased its position in Nexstar Media Group by 15.3% during the fourth quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 550 shares of the company's stock worth $87,000 after buying an additional 73 shares during the period. 95.30% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Nexstar Media Group

In other news, Director Charles Thomas Mcmillen sold 2,000 shares of Nexstar Media Group stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $169.51, for a total value of $339,020.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 4,975 shares of the company's stock, valued at $843,312.25. The trade was a 28.67 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CEO Perry A. Sook sold 32,096 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $170.67, for a total transaction of $5,477,824.32. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 806,019 shares in the company, valued at approximately $137,563,262.73. The trade was a 3.83 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 39,105 shares of company stock valued at $6,722,463. 6.30% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages recently weighed in on NXST. Rosenblatt Securities reiterated a "buy" rating and set a $200.00 price target on shares of Nexstar Media Group in a research note on Monday, March 10th. Loop Capital upgraded shares of 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 report on Friday, February 28th. Barrington Research restated an "outperform" rating and issued a $200.00 price target on shares of Nexstar Media Group in a research note on Wednesday, March 5th. StockNews.com cut shares of Nexstar Media Group from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Monday, March 3rd. Finally, Benchmark raised their price objective on shares of Nexstar Media Group from $200.00 to $225.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, February 28th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $208.43.

Nexstar Media Group Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ NXST traded up $1.31 on Wednesday, hitting $180.07. The company's stock had a trading volume of 92,057 shares, compared to its average volume of 449,100. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $163.39 and a 200-day moving average of $164.85. The company has a market capitalization of $5.49 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.41, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.45 and a beta of 1.47. Nexstar Media Group, Inc. has a 12-month low of $146.04 and a 12-month high of $191.86. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.98, a current ratio of 1.68 and a quick ratio of 1.68.

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

Nexstar Media Group Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, February 26th. Investors of record on Wednesday, February 12th were given a dividend of $1.86 per share. This represents a $7.44 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.13%. 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. Nexstar Media Group's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 34.56%.

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.