Guardian Asset Advisors LLC Acquires 230 Shares of Vistra Corp. $VST

Guardian Asset Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of Vistra Corp. (NYSE:VST) by 11.6% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 2,215 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 230 shares during the quarter. Guardian Asset Advisors LLC’s holdings in Vistra were worth $429,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its position in shares of Vistra by 0.3% in the first quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 4,190,462 shares of the company’s stock valued at $492,102,000 after purchasing an additional 11,386 shares during the period. Northern Trust Corp increased its position in Vistra by 1.9% during the first quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 3,083,842 shares of the company’s stock worth $362,166,000 after acquiring an additional 57,358 shares during the period. Nuveen LLC bought a new position in Vistra during the first quarter worth about $209,149,000. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC increased its position in Vistra by 8.7% during 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 worth $172,717,000 after acquiring an additional 118,230 shares during the period. Finally, American Century Companies Inc. increased its position in Vistra by 1.5% during the first quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 1,327,653 shares of the company’s stock worth $155,920,000 after acquiring an additional 19,679 shares during the period. 90.88% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts recently commented on VST shares. Scotiabank started coverage on shares of Vistra in a research report on Monday, September 22nd. They set a “sector outperform” rating and a $256.00 price target on the stock. Morgan Stanley raised their price target on shares of Vistra from $207.00 to $223.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, September 25th. UBS Group increased their price objective on shares of Vistra from $207.00 to $230.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, July 25th. Cowen started coverage on shares of Vistra in a research note on Wednesday, October 15th. They set a “buy” rating on the stock. Finally, TD Cowen started coverage on shares of Vistra in a research note on Thursday, October 16th. They set a “buy” rating and a $250.00 price objective on the stock. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have given a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Vistra presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $229.31.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO James A. Burke sold 43,074 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, September 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $208.75, for a total value of $8,991,697.50. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 217,025 shares in the company, valued at approximately $45,303,968.75. The trade was a 16.56% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 654,583 shares of company stock valued at $134,542,882. 1.42% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Vistra Trading Up 2.5%

VST opened at $190.44 on Friday. The company’s 50 day moving average is $199.36 and its 200-day moving average is $177.73. The company has a market cap of $64.53 billion, a P/E ratio of 30.37, a PEG ratio of 2.64 and a beta of 1.33. Vistra Corp. has a 1-year low of $90.51 and a 1-year high of $219.82. The company has a current ratio of 0.90, a quick ratio of 0.80 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 6.58.

Vistra (NYSE:VST) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 7th. The company reported $1.01 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.63 by ($0.62). The business had revenue of $4.25 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.15 billion. Vistra had a net margin of 12.90% and a return on equity of 108.41%. Equities research analysts predict that Vistra Corp. will post 7 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Vistra Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 30th. Stockholders of record on Friday, September 19th were given a $0.226 dividend. This is an increase from Vistra’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.23. The ex-dividend date was Friday, September 19th. This represents a $0.90 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.5%. Vistra’s dividend payout ratio is presently 14.35%.

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.