Smithfield Trust Co Trims Stock Holdings in Vistra Corp. $VST

Smithfield Trust Co lessened its stake in shares of Vistra Corp. (NYSE:VST) by 6.1% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 10,349 shares of the company’s stock after selling 671 shares during the quarter. Smithfield Trust Co’s holdings in Vistra were worth $2,006,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the stock. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its holdings in shares of 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 acquiring an additional 11,386 shares during the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp increased its holdings in Vistra by 1.9% in the 1st quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 3,083,842 shares of the company’s stock valued at $362,166,000 after purchasing an additional 57,358 shares during the last quarter. Nuveen LLC acquired a new stake in Vistra in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $209,149,000. Jennison Associates LLC raised its position in Vistra by 23.8% in the second quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 1,712,726 shares of the company’s stock valued at $331,943,000 after purchasing an additional 329,294 shares during the period. Finally, UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC raised its position in Vistra by 8.7% in the first 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 during the period. 90.88% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have recently commented on VST. Scotiabank began coverage on Vistra in a research report on Monday, September 22nd. They set a “sector outperform” rating and a $256.00 price target for the company. Daiwa Capital Markets raised Vistra from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $250.00 target price on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, September 17th. Wells Fargo & Company began coverage on Vistra in a report on Monday, October 27th. They set an “overweight” rating and a $238.00 target price for the company. Cowen initiated coverage on shares of Vistra in a research note on Wednesday, October 15th. They set a “buy” rating on the stock. Finally, Daiwa America raised shares of Vistra from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, September 17th. Four equities research 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 data from MarketBeat.com, Vistra has an average rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $234.21.

Vistra Price Performance

VST stock opened at $178.19 on Thursday. The business’s 50-day moving average is $198.68 and its two-hundred day moving average is $186.01. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.74, a current ratio of 0.99 and a quick ratio of 0.80. The firm has a market capitalization of $60.38 billion, a P/E ratio of 64.33, a P/E/G ratio of 2.24 and a beta of 1.30. Vistra Corp. has a 1 year low of $90.51 and a 1 year high of $219.82.

Vistra (NYSE:VST) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, November 6th. The company reported $1.75 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates 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 analyst estimates of $6.60 billion. Analysts anticipate that Vistra Corp. will post 7 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Vistra Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, December 31st. Shareholders of record on Monday, December 22nd will be given a $0.227 dividend. 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%. This is a boost from Vistra’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.23. Vistra’s payout ratio is currently 32.49%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Vistra

In other news, CEO James A. Burke sold 9,641 shares of Vistra stock in a transaction on Wednesday, October 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $192.30, for a total transaction of $1,853,964.30. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 298,967 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $57,491,354.10. The trade was a 3.12% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 723,910 shares of company stock valued at $148,086,569. 1.42% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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.