Nexstar Media Group, Inc. (NXST): Midwood Capital Management’s Is Satisfied With Its Performance

In a recently published Midwood Capital Management‘s Q1 2019 Investor Letter, the fund disclosed a return of 10.6% for the quarter. If you are interested you can download a copy of the letter here. Aside from reporting about its quarterly performance, Midwood Capital Management also shared its latest thought on several companies in its equity portfolio. Among those stocks was Nexstar Media Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:NXST), which was also the top contributor to the fund’s positive quarterly performance.

•Nexstar Media Group, Inc. (NXST; $115.30; $5.3billion market cap)3: This stalwart of our portfolio was the top contributor to Q1’s performance, adding over 430 bps to our gross return. The stock delivered a total return of 38.5% in the first quarter as the market digested the planned acquisition of Tribune Media Company (which will make it the nation’s largest independent broadcaster), the company delivered record financial results for the fourth quarter of 2018 and reiterated its forward free cash flow guidance, and the company announced proceeds from station divestitures (a requirement for approval of the Tribune deal) that were 30% higher than consensus expectations. We have owned NXST for nearly eight years and have watched it grow from approximately $200 million in market cap to over $5 billion. NXST remains the Fund’s second largest position as we continue to see compelling value”

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At the end of the fourth quarter, a total of 34 of the hedge funds tracked by Insider Monkey were long this stock, a change of -8% from the previous quarter. On the other hand, there were a total of 40 hedge funds with a bullish position in NXST a year ago. With hedgies’ positions undergoing their usual ebb and flow, there exists a few notable hedge fund managers who were upping their holdings significantly (or already accumulated large positions).

According to Insider Monkey’s hedge fund database, Snehal Amin’s Windacre Partnership has the largest position in Nexstar Media Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:NXST), worth close to $198.6 million, corresponding to 11.4% of its total 13F portfolio. The second largest stake is held by Hound Partners, managed by Jonathan Auerbach, which holds a $178.3 million position; 5.7% of its 13F portfolio is allocated to the stock. Some other members of the smart money with similar optimism comprise Claus Moller’s P2 Capital Partners, Parag Vora’s HG Vora Capital Management and Peter S. Park’s Park West Asset Management.