Freedom Investment Management Inc. Cuts Stock Holdings in Vistra Corp. $VST

Freedom Investment Management Inc. trimmed its position in shares of Vistra Corp. (NYSE:VST) by 14.0% in the 2nd quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 2,479 shares of the company’s stock after selling 403 shares during the period. Freedom Investment Management Inc.’s holdings in Vistra were worth $481,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other institutional investors have also recently 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 valued at $492,102,000 after purchasing an additional 11,386 shares in 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 valued at $362,166,000 after purchasing an additional 57,358 shares in the last quarter. Nuveen LLC purchased a new position in shares of Vistra during the 1st quarter valued at approximately $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 valued at $172,717,000 after purchasing an additional 118,230 shares in 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 valued at $155,920,000 after purchasing an additional 19,679 shares in the last quarter. 90.88% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at Vistra

In other Vistra news, CEO James A. Burke sold 19,612 shares of Vistra stock in a transaction on Wednesday, October 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $188.30, for a total transaction of $3,692,939.60. Following the sale, the chief executive officer owned 292,642 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $55,104,488.60. The trade was a 6.28% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 654,583 shares of company stock worth $134,542,882. Insiders own 1.42% of the company’s stock.

Vistra Trading Up 5.4%

Shares of VST opened at $201.62 on Friday. Vistra Corp. has a 52-week low of $90.51 and a 52-week high of $219.82. The company has a quick ratio of 0.80, a current ratio of 0.90 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 6.58. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $199.45 and its two-hundred day moving average is $178.94. The stock has a market cap of $68.31 billion, a PE ratio of 32.16, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.86 and a beta of 1.33.

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

Vistra Increases Dividend

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

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

VST has been the subject of several recent research reports. Jefferies Financial Group reaffirmed a “hold” rating and set a $230.00 target price (down from $241.00) on shares of Vistra in a report on Monday, September 22nd. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their price target on shares of Vistra from $179.00 to $203.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, August 13th. Daiwa America raised shares of Vistra from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, September 17th. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Vistra from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Friday, September 5th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reissued a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Vistra in a report on Wednesday, October 8th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have issued a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $229.31.

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.