Verdence Capital Advisors LLC Buys New Position in Nexstar Media Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:NXST)

Verdence Capital Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Nexstar Media Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:NXST - Free Report) in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor bought 8,116 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,342,000.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. CWA Asset Management Group LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Nexstar Media Group in the third quarter valued at about $312,000. Capital Performance Advisors LLP purchased a new stake in Nexstar Media Group during the third quarter worth about $44,000. Olympiad Research LP purchased a new stake in Nexstar Media Group during the third quarter worth about $265,000. Capital Management Corp VA increased its holdings in Nexstar Media Group by 2.7% during the third quarter. Capital Management Corp VA now owns 162,295 shares of the company's stock worth $26,835,000 after buying an additional 4,258 shares during the last quarter. Finally, QRG Capital Management Inc. increased its holdings in Nexstar Media Group by 7.6% during the third quarter. QRG Capital Management Inc. now owns 4,532 shares of the company's stock worth $749,000 after buying an additional 322 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 95.30% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts recently issued reports on NXST shares. Benchmark restated a "buy" rating and set a $215.00 price objective on shares of Nexstar Media Group in a report on Friday. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price objective on shares of Nexstar Media Group from $221.00 to $209.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Friday, August 9th. Barrington Research restated an "outperform" rating and set a $200.00 price objective on shares of Nexstar Media Group in a report on Thursday. Loop Capital downgraded shares of Nexstar Media Group from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and decreased their price objective for the stock from $200.00 to $190.00 in a report on Friday. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded shares of Nexstar Media Group from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Friday. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $198.50.

Nexstar Media Group Stock Performance

NASDAQ:NXST traded down $22.46 on Friday, reaching $166.04. 1,148,413 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 299,642. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.92, a current ratio of 1.78 and a quick ratio of 1.78. The firm has a market cap of $5.36 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.60, a P/E/G ratio of 0.19 and a beta of 1.48. Nexstar Media Group, Inc. has a 52 week low of $140.92 and a 52 week high of $191.86. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $168.54 and a 200-day simple moving average of $166.99.

Nexstar Media Group (NASDAQ:NXST - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, November 7th. The company reported $5.27 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $5.51 by ($0.24). Nexstar Media Group had a net margin of 11.39% and a return on equity of 25.72%. The firm had revenue of $1.37 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.37 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $0.70 earnings per share. Nexstar Media Group's revenue was up 20.7% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Nexstar Media Group, Inc. will post 25.72 earnings per share for the current year.

Nexstar Media Group Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 29th. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 15th will be given a $1.69 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, November 15th. This represents a $6.76 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.07%. Nexstar Media Group's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 39.10%.

Insider Activity

In other news, insider Sean Compton sold 3,930 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $160.61, for a total value of $631,197.30. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 10,684 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,715,957.24. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other news, insider Sean Compton sold 3,930 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $160.61, for a total value of $631,197.30. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 10,684 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,715,957.24. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, insider Gary Weitman sold 7,261 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, September 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $164.80, for a total transaction of $1,196,612.80. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 5,216 shares of the company's stock, valued at $859,596.80. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 41,112 shares of company stock worth $6,887,029. 6.30% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.