Nordea Investment Management AB Buys 344,707 Shares of Vistra Corp. $VST

Nordea Investment Management AB boosted its position in shares of Vistra Corp. (NYSE:VST) by 1,973.0% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 362,178 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 344,707 shares during the period. Nordea Investment Management AB’s holdings in Vistra were worth $69,477,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. State Street Corp raised its position in shares of Vistra by 1.4% during the 2nd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 16,660,027 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,228,880,000 after purchasing an additional 226,514 shares during the period. Lone Pine Capital LLC increased its stake in Vistra by 40.5% in the 2nd quarter. Lone Pine Capital LLC now owns 6,469,719 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,253,896,000 after buying an additional 1,864,931 shares in the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA raised its holdings in Vistra by 4.4% during the second quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 6,175,553 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,196,884,000 after acquiring an additional 258,983 shares during the period. Norges Bank purchased a new position in shares of Vistra in the second quarter valued at about $930,080,000. Finally, Invesco Ltd. lifted its position in shares of Vistra by 25.2% in the second quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 4,537,384 shares of the company’s stock valued at $879,390,000 after acquiring an additional 913,350 shares in the last quarter. 90.88% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, EVP Scott A. Hudson sold 56,000 shares of Vistra stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $168.86, for a total value of $9,456,160.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 306,600 shares in the company, valued at approximately $51,772,476. The trade was a 15.44% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, EVP Carrie Lee Kirby sold 58,275 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $174.75, for a total value of $10,183,556.25. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 218,239 shares in the company, valued at approximately $38,137,265.25. This represents a 21.07% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 300,362 shares of company stock worth $55,194,619. Corporate insiders own 1.42% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts recently issued reports on VST shares. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Vistra in a research report on Monday, December 29th. KeyCorp initiated coverage on shares of Vistra in a report on Monday, November 24th. They set an “overweight” rating and a $217.00 price objective for the company. Cowen started coverage on shares of Vistra in a report on Wednesday, October 15th. They issued a “buy” rating on the stock. BMO Capital Markets upped their target price on shares of Vistra from $230.00 to $244.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday. Finally, Daiwa America upgraded shares of Vistra from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, September 17th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twelve have issued a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Vistra currently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $239.40.

Vistra Trading Down 1.5%

VST stock opened at $168.88 on Thursday. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $169.77 and a 200 day moving average price of $188.08. Vistra Corp. has a fifty-two week low of $90.51 and a fifty-two week high of $219.82. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.74, a quick ratio of 0.88 and a current ratio of 0.99. The firm has a market cap of $57.22 billion, a PE ratio of 60.97, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.07 and a beta of 1.41.

Vistra (NYSE:VST) last released its quarterly earnings results on Friday, November 7th. The company reported $1.75 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.78 by ($0.03). Vistra had a net margin of 6.70% and a return on equity of 64.04%. The business had revenue of $4.97 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.60 billion. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Vistra Corp. will post 7 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Vistra Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, December 31st. Investors of record on Monday, December 22nd were issued a $0.227 dividend. This represents a $0.91 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.5%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, December 22nd. This is a positive change from Vistra’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.23. Vistra’s payout ratio is 32.49%.

About Vistra

Vistra (NYSE: VST) is an integrated power company that develops, owns and operates electricity generation and retail businesses in the United States. The company’s operations span wholesale power production—through a diversified fleet of thermal and lower‑carbon generation assets—and retail electricity supply to residential, commercial and industrial customers. Vistra serves organized wholesale markets and competitive retail markets, with a notable presence in Texas and other regional U.S. power markets.

Vistra’s core activities include the ownership and operation of generation facilities, the commercial dispatch and optimization of those assets into wholesale markets, and the sale of electricity and related services to end-use customers through its retail brands.