Trexquant Investment LP Invests $1.71 Million in Nexstar Media Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:NXST)

Trexquant Investment LP purchased a new stake in shares of Nexstar Media Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:NXST) in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor purchased 10,823 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,710,000.

Other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Quantinno Capital Management LP boosted its position in shares of Nexstar Media Group by 27.6% during the 3rd quarter. Quantinno Capital Management LP now owns 4,287 shares of the company’s stock valued at $709,000 after acquiring an additional 928 shares during the last quarter. Stifel Financial Corp lifted its position in Nexstar Media Group by 136.8% during the third quarter. Stifel Financial Corp now owns 30,355 shares of the company’s stock valued at $5,019,000 after purchasing an additional 17,535 shares during the last quarter. Weiss Asset Management LP purchased a new position in shares of Nexstar Media Group in the 3rd quarter worth $443,000. Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC bought a new stake in shares of Nexstar Media Group in the 3rd quarter worth about $1,168,000. Finally, Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd purchased a new stake in shares of Nexstar Media Group during the 3rd quarter valued at about $821,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 95.30% of the company’s stock.

Nexstar Media Group Stock Down 1.9 %

Shares of NXST opened at $147.79 on Wednesday. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $163.56 and a 200-day moving average price of $164.47. The company has a current ratio of 1.68, a quick ratio of 1.68 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.98. The firm has a market capitalization of $4.51 billion, a P/E ratio of 8.55, a P/E/G ratio of 0.45 and a beta of 1.09. Nexstar Media Group, Inc. has a 12-month low of $145.79 and a 12-month high of $191.86.

Nexstar Media Group (NASDAQ:NXST) 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). Nexstar Media Group had a return on equity of 26.03% and a net margin of 11.39%. The company had revenue of $1.49 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.48 billion. Equities research 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 given a dividend of $1.86 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, February 12th. This is a positive change from Nexstar Media Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.69. This represents a $7.44 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 5.03%. Nexstar Media Group’s payout ratio is 34.56%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts recently commented on the company. Rosenblatt Securities reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $200.00 price target on shares of Nexstar Media Group in a research report on Monday, March 10th. Benchmark boosted their target price on Nexstar Media Group from $200.00 to $225.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, February 28th. Guggenheim increased their price target on Nexstar Media Group from $210.00 to $220.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, February 28th. Barrington Research reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $200.00 price objective on shares of Nexstar Media Group in a research note on Wednesday, March 5th. Finally, StockNews.com cut shares of Nexstar Media Group from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, March 3rd. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $208.43.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CEO Perry A. Sook sold 32,096 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $170.67, for a total value of $5,477,824.32. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 806,019 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $137,563,262.73. This represents a 3.83 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, insider Gary Weitman sold 1,241 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $177.21, for a total transaction of $219,917.61. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 3,975 shares in the company, valued at $704,409.75. This trade represents a 23.79 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 39,105 shares of company stock worth $6,722,463. 6.30% of the stock is currently 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.