Nexstar Media Group (NASDAQ:NXST) Trading 5.7% Higher Following Analyst Upgrade

Nexstar Media Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:NXST - Get Free Report) traded up 5.7% during mid-day trading on Friday after Benchmark raised their price target on the stock from $200.00 to $225.00. Benchmark currently has a buy rating on the stock. Nexstar Media Group traded as high as $171.50 and last traded at $171.89. 58,161 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 81% from the average session volume of 310,952 shares. The stock had previously closed at $162.58.

Several other brokerages have also recently issued reports on NXST. Barrington Research reissued an "outperform" rating and set a $200.00 target price on shares of Nexstar Media Group in a report on Thursday, February 27th. Loop Capital upgraded shares of Nexstar Media Group from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and raised their price target for the company from $190.00 to $200.00 in a research report on Friday. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Nexstar Media Group from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, November 8th. Finally, Guggenheim raised their price target on shares of Nexstar Media Group from $210.00 to $220.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $210.29.

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Insider Activity

In related news, Director Lisbeth Mcnabb sold 875 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Monday, December 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $172.00, for a total transaction of $150,500.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 5,752 shares in the company, valued at approximately $989,344. The trade was a 13.20 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through 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 transaction of $82,225.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 2,000 shares in the company, valued at $328,900. This trade represents a 20.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 127,493 shares of company stock worth $20,354,366 over the last 90 days. 6.30% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Nexstar Media Group by 43.7% in the 3rd quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 6,419 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,061,000 after buying an additional 1,951 shares in the last quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC raised its position in Nexstar Media Group by 137.7% during the 3rd quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 4,373 shares of the company's stock worth $723,000 after buying an additional 2,533 shares during the last quarter. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. raised its position in Nexstar Media Group by 159.3% during the 3rd quarter. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 9,987 shares of the company's stock worth $1,651,000 after buying an additional 6,136 shares during the last quarter. QRG Capital Management Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Nexstar Media Group by 7.6% in the 3rd quarter. QRG Capital Management Inc. now owns 4,532 shares of the company's stock valued at $749,000 after purchasing an additional 322 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Capital Management Corp VA increased its holdings in shares of Nexstar Media Group by 2.7% in the 3rd quarter. Capital Management Corp VA now owns 162,295 shares of the company's stock valued at $26,835,000 after purchasing an additional 4,258 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 95.30% of the company's stock.

Nexstar Media Group Price Performance

The stock's fifty day moving average price is $155.59 and its 200-day moving average price is $163.55. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.98, a quick ratio of 1.68 and a current ratio of 1.68. The firm has a market cap of $5.27 billion, a PE ratio of 9.82, a P/E/G ratio of 0.45 and a beta of 1.45.

Nexstar Media Group (NASDAQ:NXST - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 27th. The company reported $7.56 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $9.22 by ($1.66). The business had revenue of $1.49 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates 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, equities analysts forecast that Nexstar Media Group, Inc. will post 21.62 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Nexstar Media Group Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, February 26th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, February 12th were paid a dividend of $1.86 per share. This is a boost from Nexstar Media Group's previous quarterly dividend of $1.69. This represents a $7.44 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.38%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, February 12th. 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.