New York State Common Retirement Fund Cuts Stake in Vistra Corp. (NYSE:VST)

New York State Common Retirement Fund reduced its stake in Vistra Corp. (NYSE:VST) by 4.3% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 137,425 shares of the company’s stock after selling 6,200 shares during the period. New York State Common Retirement Fund’s holdings in Vistra were worth $16,139,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. HM Payson & Co. raised its position in shares of Vistra by 275.4% during the 1st quarter. HM Payson & Co. now owns 229 shares of the company’s stock valued at $27,000 after buying an additional 168 shares in the last quarter. Tucker Asset Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Vistra in the fourth quarter worth about $28,000. Ameriflex Group Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Vistra during the fourth quarter worth approximately $32,000. Whittier Trust Co. increased its holdings in Vistra by 1,611.8% during the 4th quarter. Whittier Trust Co. now owns 291 shares of the company’s stock worth $40,000 after purchasing an additional 274 shares during the period. Finally, Opal Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Vistra in the first quarter valued at about $46,000. 90.88% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have weighed in on VST shares. Evercore ISI set a $192.00 target price on Vistra and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, May 15th. Morgan Stanley raised their price target on Vistra from $178.00 to $186.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, June 18th. UBS Group upped their target price on Vistra from $160.00 to $207.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, June 17th. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their price objective on shares of Vistra from $134.00 to $164.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, May 23rd. Finally, Raymond James Financial initiated coverage on Vistra in a research note on Friday, June 13th. They issued a “strong-buy” rating and a $216.00 target price on the stock. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Vistra presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $176.92.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, EVP Carrie Lee Kirby sold 108,000 shares of Vistra stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, May 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $156.98, for a total transaction of $16,953,840.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 218,239 shares in the company, valued at approximately $34,259,158.22. This trade represents a 33.10% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, EVP Scott A. Hudson sold 56,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $157.00, for a total transaction of $8,792,000.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 306,600 shares in the company, valued at approximately $48,136,200. The trade was a 15.44% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 294,000 shares of company stock worth $47,461,490 in the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 1.42% of the company’s stock.

Vistra Price Performance

Shares of Vistra stock opened at $184.16 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 6.53, a current ratio of 0.86 and a quick ratio of 0.77. Vistra Corp. has a 12 month low of $66.50 and a 12 month high of $200.25. The stock has a market capitalization of $62.49 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.96, a PEG ratio of 2.25 and a beta of 1.26. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $173.51 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $151.92.

Vistra Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 30th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, June 18th were issued a dividend of $0.225 per share. This is a positive change from Vistra’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.22. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, June 18th. This represents a $0.90 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.49%. Vistra’s dividend payout ratio is presently 14.15%.

Vistra 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.