Nexstar Media Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:NXST) Shares Acquired by Verdence Capital Advisors LLC

Verdence Capital Advisors LLC grew its stake in Nexstar Media Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:NXST - Free Report) by 36.6% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 11,088 shares of the company's stock after acquiring an additional 2,972 shares during the quarter. Verdence Capital Advisors LLC's holdings in Nexstar Media Group were worth $1,752,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of NXST. Pacer Advisors Inc. boosted its holdings in Nexstar Media Group by 27,180.2% during the 4th quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 1,206,877 shares of the company's stock valued at $190,650,000 after acquiring an additional 1,202,453 shares during the period. Proficio Capital Partners LLC purchased a new position in Nexstar Media Group during the 4th quarter valued at about $35,560,000. Payden & Rygel boosted its holdings in Nexstar Media Group by 40.4% during the 3rd quarter. Payden & Rygel now owns 110,200 shares of the company's stock valued at $18,222,000 after acquiring an additional 31,700 shares during the period. World Investment Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Nexstar Media Group during the 3rd quarter valued at about $3,747,000. Finally, SGL Investment Advisors Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Nexstar Media Group in the 3rd quarter valued at about $3,758,000. 95.30% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have recently issued reports on NXST. StockNews.com cut Nexstar Media Group from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Monday, March 3rd. Loop Capital upgraded Nexstar Media Group from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and lifted their price objective for the company from $190.00 to $200.00 in a research note on Friday, February 28th. Benchmark lifted their price objective on Nexstar Media Group from $200.00 to $225.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, February 28th. Guggenheim lifted their price objective on Nexstar Media Group from $210.00 to $220.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, February 28th. Finally, Barrington Research reissued an "outperform" rating and set a $200.00 target price on shares of Nexstar Media Group in a research report on Wednesday. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $210.29.

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Nexstar Media Group Stock Up 3.0 %

Shares of NASDAQ NXST traded up $5.26 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $177.85. 609,979 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 371,909. 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, Inc. has a twelve month low of $146.04 and a twelve month high of $191.86. The company has a market cap of $5.43 billion, a PE ratio of 10.29, a P/E/G ratio of 0.45 and a beta of 1.47. The firm's fifty day simple moving average is $156.61 and its 200-day simple moving average is $163.75.

Nexstar Media Group (NASDAQ:NXST - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 27th. The company reported $7.56 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $9.22 by ($1.66). The firm had revenue of $1.49 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.48 billion. Nexstar Media Group had a return on equity of 26.03% and a net margin of 11.39%. Research analysts predict 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 given a dividend of $1.86 per share. This is a positive change from Nexstar Media Group's previous quarterly dividend of $1.69. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, February 12th. This represents a $7.44 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.18%. Nexstar Media Group's payout ratio is 34.56%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Nexstar Media Group news, insider Gary Weitman sold 1,241 shares of Nexstar Media Group stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $177.21, for a total transaction of $219,917.61. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 3,975 shares of the company's stock, valued at $704,409.75. The trade was a 23.79 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CEO Perry A. Sook sold 52,808 shares of Nexstar Media Group stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, December 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $157.41, for a total value of $8,312,507.28. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 674,694 shares in the company, valued at approximately $106,203,582.54. This trade represents a 7.26 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 162,830 shares of company stock valued at $26,391,128 over the last quarter. Company insiders own 6.30% of the company's stock.

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.