Vistra Corp. $VST Stock Purchased by Nippon Life Global Investors Americas Inc.

Nippon Life Global Investors Americas Inc. raised its stake in shares of Vistra Corp. (NYSE:VST) by 29.2% during the third quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 156,890 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 35,460 shares during the quarter. Nippon Life Global Investors Americas Inc.’s holdings in Vistra were worth $21,706,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Columbia Bank grew its holdings in shares of Vistra by 8.0% during the third quarter. Columbia Bank now owns 3,586 shares of the company’s stock worth $496,000 after purchasing an additional 265 shares during the last quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. acquired a new stake in shares of Vistra during the third quarter worth $28,833,000. Pilgrim Partners Asia Pte Ltd increased its holdings in Vistra by 56.9% during the 3rd quarter. Pilgrim Partners Asia Pte Ltd now owns 565 shares of the company’s stock worth $78,000 after purchasing an additional 205 shares in the last quarter. Vise Technologies Inc. raised its stake in shares of Vistra by 45.6% in the 3rd quarter. Vise Technologies Inc. now owns 28,355 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,923,000 after purchasing an additional 8,875 shares during the period. Finally, Cidel Asset Management Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Vistra by 16.7% in the third quarter. Cidel Asset Management Inc. now owns 1,905 shares of the company’s stock valued at $264,000 after purchasing an additional 272 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 90.88% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Vistra

In other news, CEO James A. Burke purchased 4,465 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, September 1st. The stock was purchased at an average price of $135.25 per share, for a total transaction of $603,891.25. Following the completion of the purchase, the chief executive officer directly owned 1,146,352 shares in the company, valued at $155,044,108. The trade was a 0.39% increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, EVP Scott Hudson sold 22,222 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, October 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $160.14, for a total value of $3,558,631.08. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 308,915 shares in the company, valued at approximately $49,469,648.10. This trade represents a 6.71% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Corporate insiders own 0.92% of the company’s stock.

Key Stories Impacting Vistra

Here are the key news stories impacting Vistra this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Vistra completed its acquisition of Cogentrix Energy, adding 10 modern natural-gas facilities with approximately 5,500 megawatts of capacity. The deal expands Vistra’s generation fleet to nearly 50,000 MW and could strengthen its ability to serve power demand in key U.S. markets. Vistra Completes Acquisition of Cogentrix Energy
• Positive Sentiment: The board declared a quarterly common-stock dividend of $0.231 per share, a slight increase from the prior payment. The dividend implies an annualized payout of approximately $0.92 per share, providing modest shareholder income. Vistra Declares Dividend
• Neutral Sentiment: Analyst views remain mixed. Wells Fargo reportedly reduced its price expectations, while another report cited an average price target of $202.43 and potential upside from current levels. The conflicting outlook may be contributing to volatility. Wells Fargo Lowers Expectations
• Neutral Sentiment: A valuation comparison with Southern Company characterized Vistra as the cheaper utility, but Southern was viewed as stronger on dividends, debt management, profitability and recent stock performance. VST or SO Utility Comparison
• Negative Sentiment: Vistra is scheduled to report quarterly results next week, but Zacks said the company lacks the combination of earnings-estimate revisions and surprise factors typically associated with a likely earnings beat. This raises caution ahead of the report, especially after the company’s previous quarter missed consensus estimates for both earnings and revenue. Vistra Earnings Preview
• Negative Sentiment: A recent analyst downgrade has also weighed on sentiment, reinforcing concerns about valuation, execution and near-term earnings momentum. Vistra Shares Following Analyst Downgrade

Vistra Stock Down 0.2%

VST stock opened at $138.15 on Monday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.87, a current ratio of 0.97 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.87. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $145.08 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $153.71. The company has a market cap of $46.37 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.34 and a beta of 1.38. Vistra Corp. has a twelve month low of $132.66 and a twelve month high of $196.80.

Vistra (NYSE:VST) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Friday, August 7th. The company reported $0.76 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.61 by ($0.85). The company had revenue of $4.02 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.46 billion. Vistra had a return on equity of 108.68% and a net margin of 11.55%. Analysts anticipate that Vistra Corp. will post 9.13 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Vistra Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 31st. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, December 22nd will be given a dividend of $0.2310 per share. This represents a $0.92 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.7%. This is an increase from Vistra’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.23. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, December 22nd. Vistra’s payout ratio is currently 15.54%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts recently issued reports on VST shares. Siebert Williams Shank assumed coverage on Vistra in a research report on Friday, October 2nd. They issued a “buy” rating and a $202.00 target price on the stock. Zacks Research cut shares of Vistra from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 14th. BNP Paribas Exane set a $255.00 price objective on shares of Vistra in a research report on Wednesday, August 19th. Sanford C. Bernstein restated an “outperform” rating and set a $181.00 target price on shares of Vistra in a report on Thursday, October 1st. Finally, Mizuho initiated coverage on shares of Vistra in a research report on Monday, August 24th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $169.00 target price for the company. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seventeen have issued a Buy rating, one has issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Vistra has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $202.43.

Vistra Profile

Vistra Corp. (NYSE: VST) is an integrated energy company based in Irving, Texas. The company operates across electricity generation, power distribution support, energy marketing and retail electricity sales, serving residential, commercial and industrial customers primarily in the United States.

Vistra owns and operates a diverse portfolio of power generation and energy storage facilities. Its assets include natural gas, nuclear, coal and renewable generation, as well as battery storage projects.