Nexstar Media Group (NASDAQ:NXST) Raised to "Buy" at StockNews.com

Nexstar Media Group (NASDAQ:NXST - Get Free Report) was upgraded by equities research analysts at StockNews.com from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report released on Friday.

A number of other brokerages have also commented on NXST. Loop Capital lowered Nexstar Media Group from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and lowered their price target for the company from $200.00 to $190.00 in a report on Friday. Guggenheim dropped their price target on shares of Nexstar Media Group from $200.00 to $198.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, October 4th. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price target on shares of Nexstar Media Group from $221.00 to $209.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, August 9th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lowered their price objective on shares of Nexstar Media Group from $207.00 to $205.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, August 9th. Finally, Benchmark restated a "buy" rating and issued a $215.00 target price on shares of Nexstar Media Group in a research report on Friday. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Nexstar Media Group presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $198.50.

Nexstar Media Group Stock Performance

Nexstar Media Group stock traded down $22.46 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $166.04. 1,148,299 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 278,403. Nexstar Media Group has a fifty-two week low of $140.92 and a fifty-two week high of $191.86. The company has a current ratio of 1.78, a quick ratio of 1.78 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.92. The firm has a market cap of $5.36 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.05, a PEG ratio of 0.21 and a beta of 1.48. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $168.63 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $166.91.

Nexstar Media Group (NASDAQ:NXST - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, November 7th. The company reported $5.27 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $5.51 by ($0.24). Nexstar Media Group had a net margin of 8.68% and a return on equity of 18.65%. The business had revenue of $1.37 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.37 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $0.70 EPS. The business's quarterly revenue was up 20.7% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Nexstar Media Group will post 25.72 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Nexstar Media Group news, CFO Lee Ann Gliha sold 984 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $157.63, for a total transaction of $155,107.92. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 8,107 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,277,906.41. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. In related news, insider Sean Compton sold 3,930 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Friday, August 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $160.61, for a total transaction of $631,197.30. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 10,684 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,715,957.24. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CFO Lee Ann Gliha sold 984 shares of Nexstar Media Group stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $157.63, for a total value of $155,107.92. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 8,107 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,277,906.41. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 41,112 shares of company stock valued at $6,887,029. 6.30% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its position in Nexstar Media Group by 3.9% in the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 3,370,415 shares of the company's stock worth $580,689,000 after purchasing an additional 127,783 shares during the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its position in Nexstar Media Group by 4.9% during the second quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,326,476 shares of the company's stock valued at $220,189,000 after acquiring an additional 62,331 shares in the last quarter. Copeland Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in Nexstar Media Group by 18.1% in the third quarter. Copeland Capital Management LLC now owns 547,728 shares of the company's stock valued at $90,567,000 after acquiring an additional 83,829 shares during the last quarter. Capital Research Global Investors bought a new stake in Nexstar Media Group in the first quarter worth approximately $92,323,000. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp increased its stake in shares of Nexstar Media Group by 0.5% during the 2nd quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 418,815 shares of the company's stock worth $69,528,000 after purchasing an additional 2,145 shares during the last quarter. 95.30% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.

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