Crawford Fund Management LLC Has $7.20 Million Stock Holdings in Nexstar Media Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:NXST)

Crawford Fund Management LLC boosted its position in Nexstar Media Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:NXST) by 13.0% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 43,557 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 5,000 shares during the quarter. Nexstar Media Group makes up about 1.5% of Crawford Fund Management LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 7th biggest holding. Crawford Fund Management LLC owned approximately 0.14% of Nexstar Media Group worth $7,202,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of NXST. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its holdings in shares of Nexstar Media Group by 4.9% during the second quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,326,476 shares of the company’s stock valued at $220,189,000 after purchasing an additional 62,331 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Nexstar Media Group by 0.7% during the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,083,451 shares of the company’s stock valued at $179,149,000 after purchasing an additional 7,117 shares during the last quarter. Copeland Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Nexstar Media Group by 18.1% during the third quarter. Copeland Capital Management LLC now owns 547,728 shares of the company’s stock valued at $90,567,000 after purchasing an additional 83,829 shares during the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp grew its holdings in shares of Nexstar Media Group by 0.5% during the second quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 418,815 shares of the company’s stock valued at $69,528,000 after purchasing an additional 2,145 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Van Lanschot Kempen Investment Management N.V. boosted its position in shares of Nexstar Media Group by 4.7% during the second quarter. Van Lanschot Kempen Investment Management N.V. now owns 201,940 shares of the company’s stock worth $33,524,000 after buying an additional 9,084 shares during the period. 95.30% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have recently issued reports on NXST. Loop Capital downgraded Nexstar Media Group from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and reduced their price objective for the stock from $200.00 to $190.00 in a research report on Friday, November 8th. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price objective on 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. Guggenheim reduced their price objective on Nexstar Media Group from $200.00 to $198.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, October 4th. StockNews.com upgraded Nexstar Media Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, November 8th. Finally, Barrington Research restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $200.00 target price on shares of Nexstar Media Group in a research report on Thursday, November 7th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $198.50.

Insider Buying and Selling at Nexstar Media Group

In other news, Director D Geoffrey Armstrong sold 2,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, September 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $166.38, for a total value of $332,760.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 7,250 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,206,255. This represents a 21.62 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director Charles Thomas Mcmillen sold 1,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, September 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $160.00, for a total transaction of $160,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 7,975 shares in the company, valued at $1,276,000. This trade represents a 11.14 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 45,423 shares of company stock valued at $7,916,739 in the last three months. 6.30% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Nexstar Media Group Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:NXST opened at $171.15 on Friday. Nexstar Media Group, Inc. has a one year low of $141.38 and a one year high of $191.86. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $169.16 and a 200-day moving average of $167.12. The company has a market capitalization of $5.31 billion, a PE ratio of 9.90, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.20 and a beta of 1.48. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.98, a quick ratio of 1.68 and a current ratio of 1.68.

Nexstar Media Group (NASDAQ:NXST) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, November 7th. The company reported $5.27 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $5.51 by ($0.24). Nexstar Media Group had a net margin of 11.39% and a return on equity of 26.03%. The company had revenue of $1.37 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.37 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $0.70 EPS. Nexstar Media Group’s revenue was up 20.7% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Nexstar Media Group, Inc. will post 24.53 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Nexstar Media Group Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 29th. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 15th will be paid a dividend of $1.69 per share. This represents a $6.76 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.95%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 15th. Nexstar Media Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 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.