Nexstar Media Group Increases Quarterly Cash Dividend by 25 Percent
February 02 2018 - 8:04AM
Business Wire
Declares Quarterly Cash Dividend of $0.375
Per Share
Increase Marks Fifth Annual Consecutive Rise
in Cash Dividend Marking 26% Compound Annual Growth Since
Initiation of Cash Dividend in 2013
Nexstar Media Group, Inc. (Nasdaq: NXST) announced today that
its Board of Directors approved a 25 percent increase in the
quarterly cash dividend to $0.375 per share of its Class A common
stock beginning with the dividend declared for the first quarter of
2018. The dividend is payable on Friday, March 2, 2018, to
shareholders of record on Friday, February 16, 2018.
Perry A. Sook, Chairman, President and Chief Executive Officer
of Nexstar Media Group, Inc., commented, “Our fifth consecutive
annual increase in Nexstar’s cash dividend highlights the Board’s
commitment to creating value for shareholders and our success over
the past year integrating the Media General broadcasting and
digital media properties into our platform while extracting
anticipated synergies and capitalizing on the many growth
opportunities throughout our portfolio. Nexstar’s record reported
financial results enabled us to take additional actions throughout
the year to enhance shareholder value. Our return of capital and
leverage reduction initiatives in 2017 include allocating $99.0
million to opportunistically repurchase 1.7 million shares,
reducing leverage by approximately $400 million in the nine-month
period ended September 30, 2017, and returning approximately $55.9
million to shareholders in the form of cash dividends for the
full-year.
“We are highly confident in our strong forward growth prospects
as we follow the successful strategies we’ve established in terms
of building the top line, maintaining close control of fixed and
variable costs and optimizing the balance sheet and capital
structure. This plan will continue to support our goals of
delivering or exceeding our free cash flow targets of approximately
$574 million for the 2017/2018 cycle, while allowing us to reduce
leverage, pursue additional select accretive acquisitions, pay
dividends and take any other actions for the continued near- and
long-term enhancement of shareholder value.
“This month Nexstar will report operating results for 2017,
marking what we anticipate to be our sixth consecutive year of
record financial performance. Looking ahead, we remain extremely
well positioned for continued significant financial growth in 2018
given key factors including the Winter Olympics, Super Bowl on NBC,
heavily contested mid-term elections and new OTT agreements, with
tremendous prospects for continued growth in the future.”
While the Company intends to pay regular quarterly cash
dividends for the foreseeable future, all subsequent dividends will
be reviewed quarterly and declared by the Board of Directors at its
discretion.
About Nexstar Media Group, Inc.
Nexstar Media Group is a leading diversified media company that
leverages localism to bring new services and value to consumers and
advertisers through its traditional media, digital and mobile media
platforms. Nexstar owns, operates, programs or provides sales and
other services to 170 television stations and related digital
multicast signals reaching 100 markets or nearly 39% of all U.S.
television households. Nexstar’s portfolio includes primary
affiliates of NBC, CBS, ABC, FOX, MyNetworkTV and The CW. Nexstar’s
community portal websites offer additional hyper-local content and
verticals for consumers and advertisers, allowing audiences to
choose where, when and how they access content while creating new
revenue opportunities. For more information please visit
www.nexstar.tv.
Forward-Looking Statements
This communication includes forward-looking statements. We have
based these forward-looking statements on our current expectations
and projections about future events. Forward-looking statements
include information preceded by, followed by, or that includes the
words "guidance," "believes," "expects," "anticipates," "could," or
similar expressions. For these statements, Nexstar claims the
protection of the safe harbor for forward-looking statements
contained in the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995.
The forward-looking statements contained in this communication,
concerning, among other things, future financial performance,
including changes in net revenue, cash flow and operating expenses,
involve risks and uncertainties, and are subject to change based on
various important factors, including the impact of changes in
national and regional economies, the ability to service and
refinance our outstanding debt, successful integration of acquired
television stations and digital businesses (including achievement
of synergies and cost reductions), pricing fluctuations in local
and national advertising, future regulatory actions and conditions
in the television stations' operating areas, competition from
others in the broadcast television markets, volatility in
programming costs, the effects of governmental regulation of
broadcasting, industry consolidation, technological developments
and major world news events. Nexstar undertakes no obligation to
update or revise any forward-looking statements, whether as a
result of new information, future events or otherwise. In light of
these risks, uncertainties and assumptions, the forward-looking
events discussed in this communication might not occur. You should
not place undue reliance on these forward-looking statements, which
speak only as of the date of this release. For more details on
factors that could affect these expectations, please see Nexstar’s
other filings with the SEC.
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version on businesswire.com: http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20180202005054/en/
Nexstar Media Group, Inc.Thomas E. Carter, 972-373-8800EVP and
Chief Financial OfficerorJCIRJoseph Jaffoni, Jennifer
Neuman212-835-8500nxst@jcir.com
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