Creative Planning Boosts Position in Vistra Corp. $VST

Creative Planning grew its position in Vistra Corp. (NYSE:VST) by 47.0% in the second quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 62,513 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 19,975 shares during the period. Creative Planning’s holdings in Vistra were worth $12,115,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. ELCO Management Co. LLC purchased a new stake in Vistra in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $499,000. Peak Financial Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Vistra in the second quarter worth $547,000. Tcfg Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Vistra in the second quarter worth $258,000. BNP PARIBAS ASSET MANAGEMENT Holding S.A. lifted its position in shares of Vistra by 55.3% in the second quarter. BNP PARIBAS ASSET MANAGEMENT Holding S.A. now owns 6,232 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,208,000 after acquiring an additional 2,220 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Modus Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of Vistra by 5.9% during the second quarter. Modus Advisors LLC now owns 22,422 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,346,000 after acquiring an additional 1,240 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 90.88% of the company’s stock.

Vistra Stock Up 0.1%

VST opened at $175.09 on Wednesday. Vistra Corp. has a 12 month low of $90.51 and a 12 month high of $219.82. The business has a 50-day moving average of $197.41 and a two-hundred day moving average of $187.54. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.74, a current ratio of 0.99 and a quick ratio of 0.88. The stock has a market capitalization of $59.33 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 63.21, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.19 and a beta of 1.30.

Vistra (NYSE:VST) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Friday, November 7th. The company reported $1.75 earnings per share 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 company had revenue of $4.97 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.60 billion. On average, research analysts expect 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. Shareholders of record on Monday, December 22nd will be issued a $0.227 dividend. This is a boost from Vistra’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.23. The ex-dividend date is Monday, December 22nd. This represents a $0.91 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.5%. Vistra’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 32.49%.

Insider Activity

In other Vistra news, CEO James A. Burke sold 21,935 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, November 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $186.53, for a total transaction of $4,091,535.55. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer owned 271,074 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $50,563,433.22. The trade was a 7.49% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Carrie Lee Kirby sold 58,275 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $174.75, for a total value of $10,183,556.25. Following the sale, the executive vice president owned 218,239 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $38,137,265.25. This represents a 21.07% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders sold 860,120 shares of company stock valued at $171,817,820 in the last ninety days. Company insiders own 1.42% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages recently weighed in on VST. Cowen started coverage on shares of Vistra in a research note on Wednesday, October 15th. They issued a “buy” rating for the company. BMO Capital Markets lifted their price target on shares of Vistra from $236.00 to $245.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, November 7th. UBS Group upped their price objective on shares of Vistra from $207.00 to $230.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, July 25th. TD Cowen initiated coverage on shares of Vistra in a research note on Thursday, October 16th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $250.00 target price for the company. Finally, Morgan Stanley boosted their price target on Vistra from $207.00 to $223.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, September 25th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have assigned a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $234.21.

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.