Nexstar Media Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:NXST) Shares Acquired by Cookson Peirce & Co. Inc.

Cookson Peirce & Co. Inc. lifted its position in shares of Nexstar Media Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:NXST) by 10.0% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 2,998 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 273 shares during the period. Cookson Peirce & Co. Inc.’s holdings in Nexstar Media Group were worth $470,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Raymond James Financial Services Advisors Inc. boosted its position in Nexstar Media Group by 4.0% during the 1st quarter. Raymond James Financial Services Advisors Inc. now owns 1,619 shares of the company’s stock worth $305,000 after purchasing an additional 62 shares during the period. Bank of Montreal Can boosted its position in Nexstar Media Group by 11.7% during the 1st quarter. Bank of Montreal Can now owns 23,877 shares of the company’s stock worth $4,522,000 after purchasing an additional 2,510 shares during the period. MetLife Investment Management LLC purchased a new stake in Nexstar Media Group during the 1st quarter worth $171,000. BlackRock Inc. boosted its position in Nexstar Media Group by 0.7% during the 1st quarter. BlackRock Inc. now owns 1,714,944 shares of the company’s stock worth $323,233,000 after purchasing an additional 12,720 shares during the period. Finally, Great West Life Assurance Co. Can boosted its position in Nexstar Media Group by 19.1% during the 1st quarter. Great West Life Assurance Co. Can now owns 3,606 shares of the company’s stock worth $714,000 after purchasing an additional 579 shares during the period. 95.30% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on the stock. TheStreet raised shares of Nexstar Media Group from a “c+” rating to a “b-” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 1st. Barrington Research reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $200.00 price objective on shares of Nexstar Media Group in a research report on Thursday, March 7th. Finally, Rosenblatt Securities decreased their price objective on shares of Nexstar Media Group from $216.00 to $213.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, March 13th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Nexstar Media Group currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $193.83.

Insider Transactions at Nexstar Media Group

In related news, CEO Perry A. Sook sold 31,758 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $158.66, for a total transaction of $5,038,724.28. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 636,788 shares in the company, valued at $101,032,784.08. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. In related news, CEO Perry A. Sook sold 31,758 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $158.66, for a total transaction of $5,038,724.28. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 636,788 shares in the company, valued at $101,032,784.08. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director Lisbeth Mcnabb sold 2,300 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $165.00, for a total transaction of $379,500.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 12,727 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,099,955. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 46,508 shares of company stock valued at $7,487,950. Insiders own 5.90% of the company’s stock.

Nexstar Media Group Stock Performance

Shares of NXST stock opened at $159.05 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.90, a quick ratio of 1.53 and a current ratio of 1.53. Nexstar Media Group, Inc. has a one year low of $132.30 and a one year high of $187.32. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $165.77 and its 200-day simple moving average is $158.01. The stock has a market capitalization of $5.32 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.52, a PEG ratio of 0.60 and a beta of 1.50.

Nexstar Media Group (NASDAQ:NXST) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 28th. The company reported $3.32 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $4.42 by ($1.10). Nexstar Media Group had a return on equity of 14.06% and a net margin of 7.03%. The company had revenue of $1.30 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.32 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $8.04 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down 12.3% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts anticipate that Nexstar Media Group, Inc. will post 26.73 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Nexstar Media Group Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 23rd. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 9th were given a dividend of $1.69 per share. This is a boost from Nexstar Media Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.35. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, February 8th. This represents a $6.76 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.25%. Nexstar Media Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 70.20%.

Nexstar Media Group 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.