Fifth Third Bancorp Buys 10,584 Shares of Nexstar Media Group, Inc. $NXST

Fifth Third Bancorp lifted its stake in shares of Nexstar Media Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:NXST) by 1,568.0% during the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 11,259 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 10,584 shares during the period. Fifth Third Bancorp’s holdings in Nexstar Media Group were worth $2,036,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Torren Management LLC acquired a new stake in Nexstar Media Group in the fourth quarter worth $28,000. Measured Wealth Private Client Group LLC bought a new stake in Nexstar Media Group in the third quarter valued at $28,000. WPG Advisers LLC raised its holdings in shares of Nexstar Media Group by 65.7% during the fourth quarter. WPG Advisers LLC now owns 179 shares of the company’s stock valued at $36,000 after purchasing an additional 71 shares during the period. State of Wyoming acquired a new position in shares of Nexstar Media Group during the second quarter valued at about $54,000. Finally, Danske Bank A S acquired a new position in shares of Nexstar Media Group during the third quarter valued at about $59,000. 95.30% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In other news, insider Gary Weitman sold 261 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, June 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $170.81, for a total value of $44,581.41. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 6,963 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,189,350.03. This represents a 3.61% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. Also, EVP Blake Russell sold 261 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, June 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $170.81, for a total value of $44,581.41. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 28,296 shares in the company, valued at $4,833,239.76. This represents a 0.91% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. In the last three months, insiders sold 22,813 shares of company stock worth $4,174,731. Company insiders own 7.00% of the company’s stock.

Nexstar Media Group Trading Down 0.9%

NASDAQ:NXST opened at $181.89 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.53, a current ratio of 1.76 and a quick ratio of 1.76. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $179.05 and a 200-day moving average of $202.47. The company has a market cap of $5.55 billion, a PE ratio of 39.03, a PEG ratio of 0.46 and a beta of 0.91. Nexstar Media Group, Inc. has a one year low of $154.47 and a one year high of $254.30.

Nexstar Media Group Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 29th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 15th were paid a dividend of $1.86 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, May 15th. This represents a $7.44 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.1%. Nexstar Media Group’s payout ratio is 159.66%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have recently commented on NXST. Zacks Research downgraded Nexstar Media Group from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, July 10th. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price target on Nexstar Media Group from $290.00 to $253.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, May 8th. Barrington Research reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $290.00 price target on shares of Nexstar Media Group in a report on Tuesday, April 28th. Benchmark reduced their price objective on Nexstar Media Group from $300.00 to $250.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, April 6th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reduced their price objective on Nexstar Media Group from $270.00 to $255.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, May 11th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Nexstar Media Group currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $259.67.

About Nexstar Media Group

Nexstar Media Group, Inc is a diversified American media company engaged primarily in the ownership, operation and strategic affiliation of local television stations, digital platforms and cable networks. The company provides a range of broadcast content, including local news, sports coverage, entertainment programming and syndicated shows, reaching audiences in more than 100 television markets across the United States.

Founded in 1996 by entrepreneur Perry Sook and headquartered in Irving, Texas, Nexstar has built its presence through organic growth and a series of high-profile acquisitions.