Nexstar Media Group (NASDAQ:NXST) COO Michael Biard Sells 2,465 Shares of Stock

Nexstar Media Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:NXST) COO Michael Biard sold 2,465 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, August 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $185.82, for a total value of $458,046.30. Following the sale, the chief operating officer owned 20,890 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,881,779.80. This represents a 10.55% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards.

Michael Biard also recently made the following trade(s):

• On Friday, June 12th, Michael Biard sold 1,227 shares of Nexstar Media Group stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $174.21, for a total value of $213,755.67.
• On Wednesday, May 27th, Michael Biard sold 989 shares of Nexstar Media Group stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $187.32, for a total value of $185,259.48.

Nexstar Media Group Stock Up 0.1%

NXST opened at $186.24 on Tuesday. The company has a market capitalization of $5.74 billion, a PE ratio of 35.75 and a beta of 0.91. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.09, a current ratio of 1.56 and a quick ratio of 1.56. Nexstar Media Group, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $154.47 and a fifty-two week high of $254.30. The business has a 50-day moving average of $181.15 and a 200-day moving average of $198.88.

Nexstar Media Group (NASDAQ:NXST) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 6th. The company reported $3.61 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $5.98 by ($2.37). The firm had revenue of $1.99 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.97 billion. Nexstar Media Group had a net margin of 3.20% and a return on equity of 24.02%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 62.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $3.06 EPS. Equities research analysts forecast that Nexstar Media Group, Inc. will post 32.88 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Nexstar Media Group Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 28th. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 14th will be given a $1.86 dividend. This represents a $7.44 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.0%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, August 14th. Nexstar Media Group’s payout ratio is currently 142.80%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms recently issued reports on NXST. Zacks Research lowered shares of Nexstar Media Group from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research note on Monday, August 10th. Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Nexstar Media Group in a research report on Wednesday, May 27th. Wall Street Zen lowered Nexstar Media Group from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Sunday, July 12th. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price target on Nexstar Media Group from $253.00 to $249.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, August 7th. Finally, Barrington Research reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $290.00 price target on shares of Nexstar Media Group in a research note on Tuesday, April 28th. Six analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, one has issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Nexstar Media Group currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $259.00.

Institutional Trading of Nexstar Media Group

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of NXST. California State Teachers Retirement System lifted its position in Nexstar Media Group by 17,529.4% during the 2nd quarter. California State Teachers Retirement System now owns 5,924,366 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,058,033,000 after acquiring an additional 5,890,761 shares during the last quarter. Paralel Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Nexstar Media Group during the second quarter valued at about $2,285,000. AlphaGrep UK Ltd acquired a new stake in shares of Nexstar Media Group in the second quarter valued at about $542,000. Odyssean LLC increased its stake in shares of Nexstar Media Group by 188.6% in the second quarter. Odyssean LLC now owns 17,036 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,042,000 after purchasing an additional 11,133 shares during the period. Finally, TD Waterhouse Canada Inc. increased its stake in shares of Nexstar Media Group by 2,188.4% in the second quarter. TD Waterhouse Canada Inc. now owns 2,174 shares of the company’s stock worth $394,000 after purchasing an additional 2,079 shares during the period. 95.30% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About Nexstar Media Group

Nexstar Media Group, Inc is a diversified American media company engaged primarily in the ownership, operation and strategic affiliation of local television stations, digital platforms and cable networks. The company provides a range of broadcast content, including local news, sports coverage, entertainment programming and syndicated shows, reaching audiences in more than 100 television markets across the United States.

Founded in 1996 by entrepreneur Perry Sook and headquartered in Irving, Texas, Nexstar has built its presence through organic growth and a series of high-profile acquisitions.