Kovack Advisors Inc. Reduces Holdings in Vistra Corp. $VST

Kovack Advisors Inc. cut its stake in shares of Vistra Corp. (NYSE:VST) by 12.3% during the second quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 69,949 shares of the company’s stock after selling 9,836 shares during the quarter. Vistra makes up approximately 1.3% of Kovack Advisors Inc.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 10th biggest holding. Kovack Advisors Inc.’s holdings in Vistra were worth $13,557,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Earned Wealth Advisors LLC grew its stake in Vistra by 6.2% in the second quarter. Earned Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 2,535 shares of the company’s stock worth $491,000 after purchasing an additional 147 shares in the last quarter. IFG Advisory LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Vistra in the 2nd quarter worth $413,000. Elite Life Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Vistra during the 2nd quarter worth $202,000. Buckhead Capital Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Vistra during the 2nd quarter worth $252,000. Finally, Aljian Capital Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Vistra by 8.1% during the second quarter. Aljian Capital Management LLC now owns 5,540 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,074,000 after buying an additional 415 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 90.88% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at Vistra

In other Vistra news, CEO James A. Burke sold 43,074 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, September 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $208.75, for a total value of $8,991,697.50. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 217,025 shares in the company, valued at approximately $45,303,968.75. This trade represents a 16.56% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 714,269 shares of company stock worth $146,232,604. Corporate insiders own 1.42% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

VST has been the subject of a number of research reports. TD Cowen assumed coverage on shares of Vistra in a research note on Thursday, October 16th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $250.00 price objective for the company. Weiss Ratings restated a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of Vistra in a report on Thursday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on shares of Vistra from $227.00 to $248.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 24th. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Vistra from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Friday, September 5th. Finally, Melius Research upgraded Vistra to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, August 20th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twelve have assigned a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $229.93.

Vistra Stock Down 5.0%

Shares of Vistra stock opened at $189.47 on Friday. 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 company has a market cap of $64.20 billion, a P/E ratio of 30.22, a PEG ratio of 2.83 and a beta of 1.33. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $199.53 and its 200-day moving average price is $181.16. Vistra Corp. has a 52-week low of $90.51 and a 52-week high of $219.82.

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

Vistra Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, December 31st. Investors of record on Monday, December 22nd will be paid a dividend of $0.227 per share. This is a positive change from Vistra’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.23. The ex-dividend date is Monday, December 22nd. This represents a $0.91 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.5%. Vistra’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) 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.