Nexstar Media Group (NASDAQ:NXST) Shares Gap Up – Time to Buy?

Nexstar Media Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:NXST)’s share price gapped up before the market opened on Thursday . The stock had previously closed at $146.34, but opened at $163.00. Nexstar Media Group shares last traded at $165.27, with a volume of 130,809 shares trading hands.

Analyst Ratings Changes

NXST has been the subject of several recent research reports. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Nexstar Media Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, November 8th. Barrington Research restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $200.00 price objective on shares of Nexstar Media Group in a research report on Thursday. Guggenheim upped their price objective 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. Benchmark upped their price objective on shares of Nexstar Media Group from $200.00 to $225.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday. Finally, Loop Capital upgraded shares of Nexstar Media Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their price objective for the company from $190.00 to $200.00 in a research report on Friday. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, According to data from MarketBeat.com, Nexstar Media Group has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $210.29.

Nexstar Media Group Stock Performance

The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $155.08 and a 200-day simple moving average of $163.29. The stock has a market cap of $5.25 billion, a P/E ratio of 9.78, a PEG ratio of 0.45 and a beta of 1.45. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.98, a quick ratio of 1.68 and a current ratio of 1.68.

Nexstar Media Group (NASDAQ:NXST) last released its earnings results on Thursday, February 27th. The company reported $7.56 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $9.22 by ($1.66). The firm had revenue of $1.49 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.48 billion. Nexstar Media Group had a return on equity of 26.03% and a net margin of 11.39%. On average, equities analysts expect that Nexstar Media Group, Inc. will post 21.62 earnings per share for the current year.

Nexstar Media Group Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, February 26th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, February 12th were issued a dividend of $1.86 per share. This represents a $7.44 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.40%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, February 12th. This is a boost from Nexstar Media Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.69. Nexstar Media Group’s dividend payout ratio is 43.03%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Lisbeth Mcnabb sold 875 shares of the 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 completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 5,752 shares in the company, valued at $989,344. This represents a 13.20 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CEO Perry A. Sook sold 37,025 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, December 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $160.14, for a total transaction of $5,929,183.50. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 674,694 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $108,045,497.16. This represents a 5.20 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 127,493 shares of company stock worth $20,354,366. Corporate insiders own 6.30% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Nexstar Media Group

Large investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Brooklyn Investment Group acquired a new position in shares of Nexstar Media Group during the 3rd quarter worth about $25,000. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. acquired a new stake in Nexstar Media Group in the 4th quarter valued at about $25,000. True Wealth Design LLC acquired a new stake in Nexstar Media Group in the 3rd quarter valued at about $30,000. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB acquired a new stake in Nexstar Media Group in the 3rd quarter valued at about $33,000. Finally, Capital Performance Advisors LLP acquired a new stake in Nexstar Media Group in the 3rd quarter valued at about $44,000. 95.30% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.