Nexstar Media Group (NASDAQ:NXST) Announces Quarterly Earnings Results, Misses Expectations By $0.94 EPS

Nexstar Media Group (NASDAQ:NXST) announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday. The company reported $3.54 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $4.48 by ($0.94), Briefing.com reports. Nexstar Media Group had a return on equity of 17.18% and a net margin of 8.29%. The company had revenue of $1.27 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.28 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $2.64 earnings per share. Nexstar Media Group’s revenue was up 2.3% compared to the same quarter last year.

Nexstar Media Group Price Performance

NXST stock traded down $5.26 during trading on Friday, reaching $158.29. 370,821 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 345,158. The company has a market cap of $5.21 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.39, a PEG ratio of 0.65 and a beta of 1.50. Nexstar Media Group has a 52-week low of $132.30 and a 52-week high of $187.27. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $166.66 and its 200 day moving average price is $166.68. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.85, a quick ratio of 1.80 and a current ratio of 1.80.

Nexstar Media Group Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 23rd. Investors of record on Friday, August 9th will be issued a dividend of $1.69 per share. This represents a $6.76 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.27%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, August 9th. Nexstar Media Group’s dividend payout ratio is currently 57.19%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

NXST has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Benchmark reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $225.00 price target on shares of Nexstar Media Group in a research note on Friday. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price objective on shares of Nexstar Media Group from $221.00 to $209.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday. Barrington Research restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $200.00 price objective on shares of Nexstar Media Group in a research note on Thursday. Loop Capital upgraded shares of Nexstar Media Group to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Friday, May 10th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft dropped their price objective on shares of Nexstar Media Group from $207.00 to $205.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, five have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Nexstar Media Group presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $201.67.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Charles Thomas Mcmillen sold 1,475 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $166.08, for a total transaction of $244,968.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 6,175 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,025,544. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. In other Nexstar Media Group news, Director Charles Thomas Mcmillen sold 1,475 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $166.08, for a total value of $244,968.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 6,175 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,025,544. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, EVP Blake Russell sold 433 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, May 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $167.43, for a total transaction of $72,497.19. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 25,537 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,275,659.91. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 6,826 shares of company stock valued at $1,080,597. Corporate insiders own 5.90% of the company’s stock.

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.