Forsta AP Fonden Buys 1,500 Shares of Vistra Corp. $VST

Forsta AP Fonden raised its stake in shares of Vistra Corp. (NYSE:VST) by 3.4% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 46,000 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,500 shares during the period. Forsta AP Fonden’s holdings in Vistra were worth $8,915,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in VST. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its position in Vistra by 0.3% in the 1st quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 4,190,462 shares of the company’s stock worth $492,102,000 after buying an additional 11,386 shares during the period. Northern Trust Corp lifted its holdings in shares of Vistra by 1.9% during the 1st quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 3,083,842 shares of the company’s stock worth $362,166,000 after acquiring an additional 57,358 shares during the period. Nuveen LLC bought a new position in Vistra during the first quarter worth about $209,149,000. Jennison Associates LLC boosted its stake in Vistra by 23.8% in the 2nd quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 1,712,726 shares of the company’s stock valued at $331,943,000 after buying an additional 329,294 shares in the last quarter. Finally, UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC boosted its stake in shares of Vistra by 8.7% in the 1st quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 1,470,680 shares of the company’s stock valued at $172,717,000 after purchasing an additional 118,230 shares in the last quarter. 90.88% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Vistra Trading Down 4.0%

Shares of NYSE VST opened at $171.20 on Friday. Vistra Corp. has a twelve month low of $90.51 and a twelve month high of $219.82. The stock has a market cap of $58.01 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 61.81, a P/E/G ratio of 2.23 and a beta of 1.30. The company has a quick ratio of 0.80, a current ratio of 0.99 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.74. The company’s fifty day moving average is $198.31 and its 200-day moving average is $185.91.

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

Vistra Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, December 31st. Investors of record on Monday, December 22nd will be given a $0.227 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, December 22nd. This represents a $0.91 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.5%. This is a boost from Vistra’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.23. Vistra’s payout ratio is presently 32.49%.

Insider Activity

In related news, CEO James A. Burke sold 43,074 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, September 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $208.75, for a total transaction of $8,991,697.50. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 217,025 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $45,303,968.75. This represents a 16.56% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. In the last three months, insiders sold 745,845 shares of company stock valued at $152,178,104. 1.42% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have recently commented on VST shares. UBS Group boosted their target price on Vistra from $207.00 to $230.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, July 25th. Wells Fargo & Company started coverage on shares of Vistra in a research report on Monday, October 27th. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $238.00 price objective for the company. Evercore ISI upped their target price on shares of Vistra from $237.00 to $243.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, November 7th. Melius assumed coverage on Vistra in a report on Wednesday, August 20th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $295.00 price target on the stock. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group restated a “hold” rating and set a $230.00 target price (down from $241.00) on shares of Vistra in a research report on Monday, September 22nd. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twelve have assigned a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $234.21.

About Vistra

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.