Donoghue Forlines LLC Cuts Stock Holdings in Vistra Corp. $VST

Donoghue Forlines LLC lowered its position in shares of Vistra Corp. (NYSE:VST) by 26.0% in the second quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 8,833 shares of the company’s stock after selling 3,097 shares during the quarter. Donoghue Forlines LLC’s holdings in Vistra were worth $1,712,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. City State Bank raised its stake in Vistra by 210.0% in the 2nd quarter. City State Bank now owns 155 shares of the company’s stock valued at $30,000 after purchasing an additional 105 shares during the last quarter. NewSquare Capital LLC grew its holdings in shares of Vistra by 65.9% during the second quarter. NewSquare Capital LLC now owns 214 shares of the company’s stock worth $41,000 after buying an additional 85 shares in the last quarter. Banque Transatlantique SA grew its holdings in shares of Vistra by 132.0% during the first quarter. Banque Transatlantique SA now owns 232 shares of the company’s stock worth $25,000 after buying an additional 132 shares in the last quarter. Armstrong Advisory Group Inc. raised its position in shares of Vistra by 48.4% in the second quarter. Armstrong Advisory Group Inc. now owns 239 shares of the company’s stock valued at $46,000 after buying an additional 78 shares during the last quarter. Finally, LRI Investments LLC lifted its stake in shares of Vistra by 104.3% in the second quarter. LRI Investments LLC now owns 286 shares of the company’s stock worth $55,000 after buying an additional 146 shares in the last quarter. 90.88% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Vistra Trading Down 4.0%

Shares of Vistra stock opened at $171.20 on Friday. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $198.31 and a 200 day moving average of $185.91. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.74, a quick ratio of 0.80 and a current ratio of 0.99. The firm has a market capitalization of $58.01 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 61.81, a PEG ratio of 2.23 and a beta of 1.30. Vistra Corp. has a fifty-two week low of $90.51 and a fifty-two week high of $219.82.

Vistra (NYSE:VST) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Friday, November 7th. The company reported $1.75 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.78 by ($0.03). Vistra had a net margin of 6.70% and a return on equity of 64.04%. The company had revenue of $4.97 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.60 billion. As a group, research analysts predict that Vistra Corp. will post 7 earnings per share for the current year.

Vistra Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, December 31st. Stockholders of record on Monday, December 22nd will be paid a $0.227 dividend. This is a positive change from Vistra’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.23. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, December 22nd. This represents a $0.91 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.5%. Vistra’s payout ratio is presently 32.49%.

Insider Activity at Vistra

In related news, CEO James A. Burke sold 43,074 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, September 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $208.75, for a total transaction of $8,991,697.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 217,025 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $45,303,968.75. This trade represents a 16.56% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 745,845 shares of company stock valued at $152,178,104. Corporate insiders own 1.42% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts recently issued reports on VST shares. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their price objective on shares of Vistra from $179.00 to $203.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 13th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on Vistra from $227.00 to $248.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, September 24th. Weiss Ratings restated a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of Vistra in a research report on Thursday, October 30th. Jefferies Financial Group reaffirmed a “hold” rating and issued a $230.00 price target (down previously from $241.00) on shares of Vistra in a report on Monday, September 22nd. Finally, Daiwa America raised Vistra from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 17th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twelve have given a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Vistra presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $234.21.

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.