Bahl & Gaynor Inc. Reduces Stake in Nexstar Media Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:NXST)

Bahl & Gaynor Inc. lessened its holdings in shares of Nexstar Media Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:NXST) by 96.5% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 2,769 shares of the company’s stock after selling 77,476 shares during the period. Bahl & Gaynor Inc.’s holdings in Nexstar Media Group were worth $437,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in NXST. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC raised its holdings in Nexstar Media Group by 1.1% during the fourth quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 6,487 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,073,000 after purchasing an additional 68 shares in the last quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp grew its position in shares of Nexstar Media Group by 15.3% in the 4th quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 550 shares of the company’s stock valued at $87,000 after buying an additional 73 shares during the last quarter. Natixis Advisors LLC raised its stake in Nexstar Media Group by 1.2% during the 3rd quarter. Natixis Advisors LLC now owns 10,185 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,684,000 after acquiring an additional 117 shares in the last quarter. Davis Capital Management lifted its position in Nexstar Media Group by 2.0% in the fourth quarter. Davis Capital Management now owns 6,270 shares of the company’s stock valued at $990,000 after acquiring an additional 122 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc. boosted its stake in Nexstar Media Group by 5.8% in the fourth quarter. Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc. now owns 2,518 shares of the company’s stock valued at $398,000 after acquiring an additional 137 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 95.30% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

NXST has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Loop Capital upgraded Nexstar Media Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their target price for the stock from $190.00 to $200.00 in a research report on Friday, February 28th. Benchmark boosted 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. Barrington Research restated an “outperform” rating and set a $200.00 target price on shares of Nexstar Media Group in a research report on Wednesday. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Nexstar Media Group from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday. Finally, Guggenheim raised their price objective on shares of Nexstar Media Group from $210.00 to $220.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, February 28th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $210.29.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Nexstar Media Group news, Director Lisbeth Mcnabb sold 875 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, December 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $172.00, for a total transaction of $150,500.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 5,752 shares in the company, valued at approximately $989,344. The trade was a 13.20 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director Bernadette S. Aulestia sold 500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, December 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $164.45, for a total value of $82,225.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 2,000 shares in the company, valued at $328,900. This trade represents a 20.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 161,589 shares of company stock worth $26,171,210. 6.30% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Nexstar Media Group Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ NXST opened at $169.63 on Thursday. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $155.78 and a 200 day moving average price of $163.59. Nexstar Media Group, Inc. has a 1-year low of $146.04 and a 1-year high of $191.86. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.98, a current ratio of 1.68 and a quick ratio of 1.68. The company has a market cap of $5.26 billion, a PE ratio of 9.81, a P/E/G ratio of 0.45 and a beta of 1.45.

Nexstar Media Group (NASDAQ:NXST) last released its 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). Nexstar Media Group had a return on equity of 26.03% and a net margin of 11.39%. The firm had revenue of $1.49 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.48 billion. Sell-side analysts forecast that Nexstar Media Group, Inc. will post 21.62 EPS for the current year.

Nexstar Media Group Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, February 26th. Investors 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 4.39%. 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. Nexstar Media Group’s dividend payout ratio is currently 34.56%.

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.