Virtus Investment Advisers LLC Acquires 1,449 Shares of Vistra Corp. $VST

Virtus Investment Advisers LLC increased its holdings in shares of Vistra Corp. (NYSE:VST) by 15.3% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 10,943 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,449 shares during the period. Vistra makes up about 0.7% of Virtus Investment Advisers LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 3rd biggest position. Virtus Investment Advisers LLC’s holdings in Vistra were worth $2,121,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Bridgewater Advisors Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Vistra by 4.0% during the 2nd quarter. Bridgewater Advisors Inc. now owns 1,734 shares of the company’s stock worth $333,000 after buying an additional 67 shares in the last quarter. Verdence Capital Advisors LLC raised its stake in Vistra by 2.2% during the 2nd quarter. Verdence Capital Advisors LLC now owns 3,256 shares of the company’s stock worth $631,000 after buying an additional 71 shares during the period. Fogel Capital Management Inc. boosted its holdings in Vistra by 0.9% in the second quarter. Fogel Capital Management Inc. now owns 7,897 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,531,000 after acquiring an additional 72 shares in the last quarter. Red Mountain Financial LLC grew its stake in Vistra by 3.1% in the second quarter. Red Mountain Financial LLC now owns 2,435 shares of the company’s stock valued at $472,000 after acquiring an additional 74 shares during the period. Finally, Parallel Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of Vistra by 3.1% during the second quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC now owns 2,528 shares of the company’s stock valued at $490,000 after acquiring an additional 75 shares in the last quarter. 90.88% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at Vistra

In other news, CEO James A. Burke sold 21,935 shares of Vistra stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, November 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $186.53, for a total value of $4,091,535.55. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 271,074 shares in the company, valued at $50,563,433.22. This trade represents a 7.49% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, EVP Scott A. Hudson sold 56,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $168.86, for a total transaction of $9,456,160.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 306,600 shares in the company, valued at approximately $51,772,476. This trade represents a 15.44% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. In the last quarter, insiders sold 868,339 shares of company stock worth $173,242,584. Insiders own 1.42% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts recently issued reports on the company. Morgan Stanley reiterated an “overweight” rating and issued a $225.00 target price on shares of Vistra in a report on Thursday, November 20th. BMO Capital Markets raised their price objective on shares of Vistra from $236.00 to $245.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, November 7th. Melius started coverage on shares of Vistra in a report on Wednesday, August 20th. They set a “buy” rating and a $295.00 price objective for the company. TD Cowen started coverage on shares of Vistra in a report on Thursday, October 16th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $250.00 target price for the company. Finally, Daiwa Capital Markets raised shares of Vistra from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $250.00 price target on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, September 17th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twelve have issued a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Vistra currently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $233.20.

Vistra Stock Up 3.7%

Vistra stock opened at $177.14 on Friday. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $192.56 and a 200-day moving average price of $188.55. The company has a quick ratio of 0.88, a current ratio of 0.99 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.74. Vistra Corp. has a twelve month low of $90.51 and a twelve month high of $219.82. The company has a market capitalization of $60.02 billion, a P/E ratio of 63.95, a P/E/G ratio of 3.04 and a beta of 1.30.

Vistra (NYSE:VST) last posted 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 net margin of 6.70% and a return on equity of 64.04%. The firm had revenue of $4.97 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.60 billion. As a group, equities analysts predict that Vistra Corp. will post 7 EPS for the current year.

Vistra Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, December 31st. Investors of record on Monday, December 22nd will be issued a $0.227 dividend. This is an increase 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 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.5%. Vistra’s payout ratio is 32.49%.

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.