Zions Bancorporation N.A. Boosts Stake in Nexstar Media Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:NXST)

Zions Bancorporation N.A. lifted its holdings in Nexstar Media Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:NXST) by 18.5% during the 3rd quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 12,226 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,905 shares during the period. Zions Bancorporation N.A.’s holdings in Nexstar Media Group were worth $2,022,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of NXST. Capital Research Global Investors purchased a new position in Nexstar Media Group during the first quarter worth about $92,323,000. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its stake in Nexstar Media Group by 3.9% during the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 3,370,415 shares of the company’s stock worth $580,689,000 after purchasing an additional 127,783 shares during the period. Payden & Rygel Investment Group purchased a new position in Nexstar Media Group during the first quarter worth about $15,144,000. Copeland Capital Management LLC raised its stake in Nexstar Media Group by 18.1% during the third quarter. Copeland Capital Management LLC now owns 547,728 shares of the company’s stock worth $90,567,000 after purchasing an additional 83,829 shares during the period. Finally, AQR Capital Management LLC raised its stake in Nexstar Media Group by 72.0% during the second quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 199,811 shares of the company’s stock worth $32,769,000 after purchasing an additional 83,637 shares during the period. 95.30% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have weighed in on NXST. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft dropped their price target on shares of Nexstar Media Group from $207.00 to $205.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, August 9th. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price target on shares of Nexstar Media Group from $221.00 to $209.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, August 9th. 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 reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $200.00 price target on shares of Nexstar Media Group in a research report on Thursday, November 7th. Finally, Loop Capital cut shares of Nexstar Media Group from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and dropped their price target for the company from $200.00 to $190.00 in a research report on Friday, November 8th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Nexstar Media Group presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $198.50.

Insider Buying and Selling at Nexstar Media Group

In related news, EVP Michael Strober sold 1,076 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $167.50, for a total value of $180,230.00. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Perry A. Sook sold 12,239 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, November 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $190.28, for a total transaction of $2,328,836.92. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 674,694 shares in the company, valued at approximately $128,380,774.32. The trade was a 1.78 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 48,437 shares of company stock valued at $8,429,561. 6.30% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Nexstar Media Group Stock Up 0.1 %

Shares of NASDAQ:NXST opened at $166.18 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $5.15 billion, a PE ratio of 9.61, a P/E/G ratio of 0.19 and a beta of 1.48. The company has a current ratio of 1.68, a quick ratio of 1.68 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.98. Nexstar Media Group, Inc. has a twelve month low of $141.38 and a twelve month high of $191.86. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $168.61 and a 200-day simple moving average of $167.11.

Nexstar Media Group (NASDAQ:NXST) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, November 7th. The company reported $5.27 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $5.51 by ($0.24). The company had revenue of $1.37 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.37 billion. Nexstar Media Group had a return on equity of 26.03% and a net margin of 11.39%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 20.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $0.70 EPS. On average, equities analysts predict that Nexstar Media Group, Inc. will post 25.72 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Nexstar Media Group Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 29th. Investors of record on Friday, November 15th will be given a $1.69 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 15th. This represents a $6.76 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.07%. Nexstar Media Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 39.10%.

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.