Knights of Columbus Asset Advisors LLC Reduces Stock Position in Vistra Corp. (NYSE:VST)

Knights of Columbus Asset Advisors LLC cut its holdings in Vistra Corp. (NYSE:VST) by 26.8% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 138,210 shares of the company’s stock after selling 50,663 shares during the period. Knights of Columbus Asset Advisors LLC’s holdings in Vistra were worth $5,324,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Blue Trust Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Vistra by 160.7% in the fourth quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 717 shares of the company’s stock worth $28,000 after acquiring an additional 442 shares during the period. FinTrust Capital Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Vistra during the 3rd quarter worth about $26,000. Fifth Third Bancorp bought a new position in Vistra in the 3rd quarter worth about $29,000. Rise Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Vistra during the 4th quarter valued at about $35,000. Finally, Quarry LP purchased a new position in Vistra during the 2nd quarter valued at about $29,000. 90.88% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on VST shares. BMO Capital Markets increased their price target on shares of Vistra from $52.00 to $60.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, March 4th. Evercore ISI increased their target price on shares of Vistra from $72.00 to $79.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 4th. Janney Montgomery Scott began coverage on shares of Vistra in a research report on Thursday. They set a “buy” rating and a $82.00 price target for the company. Finally, Morgan Stanley reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and issued a $78.00 price target on shares of Vistra in a report on Monday, March 25th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, According to MarketBeat, Vistra has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $67.20.

Insider Buying and Selling at Vistra

In other news, EVP Stephanie Zapata Moore sold 98,020 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $58.50, for a total value of $5,734,170.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 161,888 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $9,470,448. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. In other Vistra news, EVP Stephanie Zapata Moore sold 98,020 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $58.50, for a total transaction of $5,734,170.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 161,888 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $9,470,448. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, EVP Carrie Lee Kirby sold 72,748 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $62.63, for a total transaction of $4,556,207.24. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 184,201 shares in the company, valued at approximately $11,536,508.63. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 257,285 shares of company stock worth $15,404,397 over the last ninety days. Insiders own 1.42% of the company’s stock.

Vistra Trading Down 0.3 %

Shares of VST opened at $65.66 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 4.26, a current ratio of 1.18 and a quick ratio of 1.11. Vistra Corp. has a 1-year low of $22.67 and a 1-year high of $75.89. The company has a market capitalization of $22.84 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.34 and a beta of 1.05. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $61.06 and its 200 day simple moving average is $45.12.

Vistra (NYSE:VST) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 28th. The company reported ($0.48) earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.54 by ($1.02). Vistra had a net margin of 10.10% and a return on equity of 20.05%. The company had revenue of $3.08 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.48 billion. Sell-side analysts forecast that Vistra Corp. will post 4.24 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Vistra Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 29th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, March 20th were issued a $0.215 dividend. This is a boost from Vistra’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.21. This represents a $0.86 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.31%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, March 19th. Vistra’s dividend payout ratio is presently 24.02%.

Vistra Company Profile

Vistra Corp., together with its subsidiaries, operates as an integrated retail electricity and power generation company. The company operates through six segments: Retail, Texas, East, West, Sunset, and Asset Closure. It retails electricity and natural gas to residential, commercial, and industrial customers across states in the United States and the District of Columbia.