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

Nexstar Media Group (NASDAQ:NXST) issued 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. The company had revenue of $1.27 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.28 billion. Nexstar Media Group had a return on equity of 17.18% and a net margin of 8.29%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company posted $2.64 EPS.

Nexstar Media Group Stock Performance

Shares of Nexstar Media Group stock traded down $5.26 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $158.29. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 370,821 shares, compared to its average volume of 345,158. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $166.80 and its 200 day simple moving average is $166.81. 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 has a one year low of $132.30 and a one year high of $187.27. The stock has a market cap of $5.21 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.47, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.65 and a beta of 1.50.

Nexstar Media Group Dividend Announcement

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

Insider Transactions at Nexstar Media Group

In other news, insider Gary Weitman sold 522 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, June 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $149.08, for a total value of $77,819.76. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 12,477 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,860,071.16. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. In related news, CFO Lee Ann Gliha sold 326 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, June 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $160.00, for a total value of $52,160.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 5,462 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $873,920. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, insider Gary Weitman sold 522 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, June 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $149.08, for a total transaction of $77,819.76. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 12,477 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,860,071.16. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 6,826 shares of company stock worth $1,080,597. 5.90% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have weighed in on NXST. Loop Capital raised shares of Nexstar Media Group to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Friday, May 10th. Benchmark reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $225.00 price objective on shares of Nexstar Media Group in a research report on Friday. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price objective 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. Barrington Research reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $200.00 price target on shares of Nexstar Media Group in a research report on Thursday. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lowered their price objective on Nexstar Media Group from $207.00 to $205.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Friday. Two research 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. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $201.67.

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.