Nexstar Media Group (NASDAQ:NXST) Stock Price Expected to Rise, Benchmark Analyst Says

Nexstar Media Group (NASDAQ:NXST - Get Free Report) had its price objective upped by analysts at Benchmark from $200.00 to $225.00 in a report released on Friday,Benzinga reports. The firm currently has a "buy" rating on the stock. Benchmark's price target suggests a potential upside of 32.55% from the stock's previous close.

NXST has been the subject of a number of other research reports. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Nexstar Media Group from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, November 8th. Guggenheim upped their target price on shares of Nexstar Media Group from $210.00 to $220.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Friday. Barrington Research reiterated an "outperform" rating and set a $200.00 price target on shares of Nexstar Media Group in a research note on Thursday, February 27th. Finally, Loop Capital raised Nexstar Media Group from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and boosted their price objective for the stock from $190.00 to $200.00 in a report on Friday. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $210.29.

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Nexstar Media Group Stock Down 1.9 %

NXST traded down $3.21 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $169.75. The company had a trading volume of 621,212 shares, compared to its average volume of 357,883. The stock's 50 day moving average price is $155.59 and its 200 day moving average price is $163.55. Nexstar Media Group has a 52 week low of $146.04 and a 52 week high of $191.86. The company has a market capitalization of $5.27 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.82, a PEG ratio of 0.45 and a beta of 1.45. The company has a quick ratio of 1.68, a current ratio of 1.68 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.98.

Nexstar Media Group (NASDAQ:NXST - Get Free Report) last issued 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). The firm had revenue of $1.49 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.48 billion. Nexstar Media Group had a net margin of 11.39% and a return on equity of 26.03%. On average, research analysts anticipate that Nexstar Media Group will post 21.62 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CEO Perry A. Sook sold 35,205 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, December 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $162.13, for a total transaction of $5,707,786.65. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 674,694 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $109,388,138.22. The trade was a 4.96 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director Bernadette S. Aulestia sold 500 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, December 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $164.45, for a total transaction of $82,225.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 2,000 shares in the company, valued at approximately $328,900. This trade represents a 20.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 127,493 shares of company stock valued at $20,354,366. Insiders own 6.30% of the company's stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Nexstar Media Group

Institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its holdings in Nexstar Media Group by 0.4% in the 4th quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,331,355 shares of the company's stock worth $210,314,000 after acquiring an additional 4,704 shares during the last quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. lifted its stake in shares of 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 valued at $190,650,000 after purchasing an additional 1,202,453 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its position in shares of Nexstar Media Group by 1.7% during the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,102,126 shares of the company's stock valued at $174,103,000 after purchasing an additional 18,675 shares in the last quarter. Demars Financial Group LLC grew its stake in Nexstar Media Group by 16,009.5% in the fourth quarter. Demars Financial Group LLC now owns 773,737 shares of the company's stock worth $122,227,000 after purchasing an additional 768,934 shares during the period. Finally, Northern Trust Corp raised its holdings in Nexstar Media Group by 22.3% in the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 463,139 shares of the company's stock worth $73,162,000 after purchasing an additional 84,367 shares in the last quarter. 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.