Vistra Corp. $VST Shares Sold by Louisiana State Employees Retirement System

Louisiana State Employees Retirement System trimmed its position in shares of Vistra Corp. (NYSE:VST) by 2.2% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 17,900 shares of the company’s stock after selling 400 shares during the period. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System’s holdings in Vistra were worth $3,469,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Amalgamated Bank increased its holdings in shares of Vistra by 1.9% during the 1st quarter. Amalgamated Bank now owns 73,908 shares of the company’s stock worth $8,680,000 after buying an additional 1,387 shares during the last quarter. Kingswood Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Vistra during the 1st quarter worth $341,000. Dynamic Advisor Solutions LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Vistra during the 1st quarter worth $432,000. Peak Financial Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Vistra during the 2nd quarter worth $547,000. Finally, Envestnet Asset Management Inc. increased its holdings in Vistra by 29.1% in the 1st quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 255,629 shares of the company’s stock valued at $30,021,000 after purchasing an additional 57,551 shares in the last quarter. 90.88% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Vistra Stock Performance

NYSE:VST opened at $209.99 on Friday. 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 $200.69 and a two-hundred day moving average of $172.05. The stock has a market cap of $71.15 billion, a P/E ratio of 33.49, a PEG ratio of 3.06 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 company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 30th. Shareholders of record on Friday, September 19th were given a $0.226 dividend. This represents a $0.90 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.4%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, September 19th. This is an increase from Vistra’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.23. Vistra’s dividend payout ratio is currently 14.35%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

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. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 422,389 shares of company stock valued at $86,992,610. Corporate insiders own 1.42% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

VST has been the subject of several recent research reports. 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. Scotiabank initiated 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. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Vistra in a report on Wednesday. BMO Capital Markets increased their price target on Vistra from $229.00 to $236.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, October 3rd. Finally, Morgan Stanley increased 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. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have issued a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $227.85.

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.