Vistra Corp. $VST Shares Acquired by Ethic Inc.

Ethic Inc. lifted its position in shares of Vistra Corp. (NYSE:VST) by 9.5% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 5,531 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 478 shares during the period. Ethic Inc.’s holdings in Vistra were worth $1,079,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its holdings in shares of Vistra by 0.3% during 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 last quarter. Northern Trust Corp increased 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 buying an additional 57,358 shares during the last quarter. Nuveen LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Vistra during the 1st quarter worth $209,149,000. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC increased its holdings in shares of Vistra by 8.7% during 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 worth $172,717,000 after buying an additional 118,230 shares during the last quarter. Finally, American Century Companies Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Vistra by 1.5% during the 1st quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 1,327,653 shares of the company’s stock worth $155,920,000 after buying an additional 19,679 shares during the last quarter. 90.88% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Vistra Stock Performance

NYSE:VST opened at $201.62 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 6.58, a current ratio of 0.90 and a quick ratio of 0.80. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $199.45 and a two-hundred day moving average of $179.36. The stock has a market cap of $68.31 billion, a P/E ratio of 32.16, a PEG ratio of 2.86 and a beta of 1.33. Vistra Corp. has a 1-year low of $90.51 and a 1-year high of $219.82.

Vistra (NYSE:VST) last posted its quarterly earnings data 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). The firm had revenue of $4.25 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.15 billion. Vistra had a net margin of 12.90% and a return on equity of 108.41%. On average, research analysts expect that Vistra Corp. will post 7 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Vistra Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 30th. Stockholders of record on Friday, September 19th were given a dividend of $0.226 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, September 19th. This is a positive change from Vistra’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.23. This represents a $0.90 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.4%. Vistra’s dividend payout ratio is 14.35%.

Insider Activity at Vistra

In other news, CEO James A. Burke sold 43,074 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 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 ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Insiders have sold a total of 654,583 shares of company stock worth $134,542,882 over the last quarter. Company insiders own 1.42% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have recently commented on the company. TD Cowen began coverage on Vistra in a report on Thursday, October 16th. They set a “buy” rating and a $250.00 price objective for the company. Jefferies Financial Group reiterated a “hold” rating and issued a $230.00 price target (down from $241.00) on shares of Vistra in a report on Monday, September 22nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on Vistra from $227.00 to $248.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, September 24th. Scotiabank began coverage on Vistra in a report on Monday, September 22nd. They issued a “sector outperform” rating and a $256.00 price target for the company. Finally, Cowen began coverage on Vistra in a report on Wednesday, October 15th. They issued a “buy” rating for the company. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have given a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $229.31.

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.