Credit Agricole S A Cuts Stock Position in Vistra Corp. $VST

Credit Agricole S A lessened its stake in shares of Vistra Corp. (NYSE:VST) by 59.2% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 107,212 shares of the company’s stock after selling 155,367 shares during the quarter. Credit Agricole S A’s holdings in Vistra were worth $12,591,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors have also modified their holdings of the company. HM Payson & Co. raised its stake in shares of Vistra by 275.4% during the first quarter. HM Payson & Co. now owns 229 shares of the company’s stock worth $27,000 after purchasing an additional 168 shares during the last quarter. Ameriflex Group Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Vistra during the fourth quarter worth approximately $32,000. Keener Financial Planning LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Vistra during the first quarter worth approximately $34,000. Zions Bancorporation National Association UT purchased a new stake in shares of Vistra during the first quarter worth approximately $39,000. Finally, Opal Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Vistra during the first quarter worth approximately $46,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 90.88% of the company’s stock.

Vistra Trading Down 0.5%

Shares of VST stock opened at $192.6120 on Thursday. Vistra Corp. has a fifty-two week low of $72.90 and a fifty-two week high of $216.85. The stock has a market cap of $65.26 billion, a P/E ratio of 30.72, a P/E/G ratio of 2.23 and a beta of 1.30. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $193.58 and a 200-day simple moving average of $158.04. The company has a quick ratio of 0.80, a current ratio of 0.90 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 6.58.

Vistra (NYSE:VST) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 7th. The company reported $1.01 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.63 by ($0.62). Vistra had a net margin of 12.90% and a return on equity of 108.41%. The firm had revenue of $4.25 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.15 billion. On average, analysts forecast that Vistra Corp. will post 7 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Vistra Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 30th. Stockholders of record on Friday, September 19th will be given a $0.226 dividend. This is an increase from Vistra’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.23. This represents a $0.90 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.5%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, September 19th. Vistra’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 14.35%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have recently commented on the company. Morgan Stanley upped their price target on Vistra from $178.00 to $186.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, June 18th. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their price objective on Vistra from $179.00 to $203.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 13th. Raymond James Financial started coverage on Vistra in a research report on Friday, June 13th. They issued a “strong-buy” rating and a $216.00 price objective for the company. UBS Group increased their price objective on Vistra from $207.00 to $230.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, July 25th. Finally, Evercore ISI set a $192.00 price objective on Vistra and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 15th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have given a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Vistra currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $199.93.

Insider Activity at Vistra

In related news, Director Scott B. Helm sold 50,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, June 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $172.75, for a total transaction of $8,637,500.00. Following the sale, the director owned 255,192 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $44,084,418. This trade represents a 16.38% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director John R. Sult sold 25,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, June 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $171.67, for a total value of $4,291,750.00. Following the sale, the director directly owned 75,946 shares in the company, valued at approximately $13,037,649.82. The trade was a 24.77% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 110,000 shares of company stock valued at $18,579,650 over the last quarter. Insiders own 1.42% of the company’s stock.

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.