Nexstar Media Group (NASDAQ:NXST) Shares Down 9.5% After Earnings Miss

Nexstar Media Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:NXST - Get Free Report) shares fell 9.5% on Friday after the company announced weaker than expected quarterly earnings. The stock traded as low as $168.80 and last traded at $170.66. 427,026 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, an increase of 31% from the average session volume of 325,232 shares. The stock had previously closed at $188.50.

The company reported $5.27 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $5.51 by ($0.24). The business had revenue of $1.37 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.37 billion. Nexstar Media Group had a net margin of 8.68% and a return on equity of 18.65%. The firm's revenue was up 20.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $0.70 earnings per share.

Nexstar Media Group Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 29th. Investors of record on Friday, November 15th will be paid a dividend of $1.69 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, November 15th. This represents a $6.76 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.07%. Nexstar Media Group's payout ratio is 53.14%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reduced their target price on shares of Nexstar Media Group from $207.00 to $205.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, August 9th. StockNews.com raised Nexstar Media Group from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday. Loop Capital lowered Nexstar Media Group from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and dropped their target price for the company from $200.00 to $190.00 in a research report on Friday. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price objective on shares of Nexstar Media Group from $221.00 to $209.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, August 9th. Finally, Benchmark reaffirmed a "buy" rating and issued a $215.00 target price on shares of Nexstar Media Group in a research report on Friday. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $198.50.

Insider Activity at Nexstar Media Group

In related news, CFO Lee Ann Gliha sold 984 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $157.63, for a total transaction of $155,107.92. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 8,107 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,277,906.41. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In related 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 value of $155,107.92. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 8,107 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,277,906.41. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, insider Sean Compton sold 3,930 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred 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 sale, the insider now owns 10,684 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,715,957.24. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 41,112 shares of company stock worth $6,887,029. Insiders own 6.30% of the company's stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Nexstar Media Group

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its holdings 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 valued at $580,689,000 after purchasing an additional 127,783 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its position in shares of Nexstar Media Group by 4.9% in the second quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,326,476 shares of the company's stock valued at $220,189,000 after buying an additional 62,331 shares in the last quarter. Copeland Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of 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 buying an additional 83,829 shares during the period. Capital Research Global Investors acquired a new stake in Nexstar Media Group during the first quarter worth approximately $92,323,000. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp grew its position in Nexstar Media Group by 0.5% during the second quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 418,815 shares of the company's stock worth $69,528,000 after buying an additional 2,145 shares in the last quarter. 95.30% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Nexstar Media Group Stock Performance

The stock has a market cap of $5.36 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.05, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.21 and a beta of 1.48. 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 stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $168.54 and a 200 day simple moving average of $166.94.

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.