Franklin Resources Inc. Sells 270,539 Shares of Vistra Corp. $VST

Franklin Resources Inc. cut its holdings in Vistra Corp. (NYSE:VST) by 9.1% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 2,713,329 shares of the company’s stock after selling 270,539 shares during the quarter. Franklin Resources Inc.’s holdings in Vistra were worth $437,741,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in VST. Bridgewater Advisors Inc. grew its holdings in Vistra by 3.1% during the 3rd quarter. Bridgewater Advisors Inc. now owns 1,787 shares of the company’s stock worth $350,000 after acquiring an additional 53 shares during the last quarter. Y.D. More Investments Ltd raised its stake in shares of Vistra by 7.1% in the third quarter. Y.D. More Investments Ltd now owns 916 shares of the company’s stock worth $168,000 after acquiring an additional 61 shares during the last quarter. Equitable Holdings Inc. lifted its position in shares of Vistra by 0.9% during the third quarter. Equitable Holdings Inc. now owns 7,045 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,380,000 after purchasing an additional 61 shares in the last quarter. SOA Wealth Advisors LLC. lifted its position in shares of Vistra by 21.7% during the fourth quarter. SOA Wealth Advisors LLC. now owns 365 shares of the company’s stock worth $59,000 after purchasing an additional 65 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Catalyst Financial Partners LLC grew its stake in shares of Vistra by 2.5% during the third quarter. Catalyst Financial Partners LLC now owns 2,798 shares of the company’s stock valued at $548,000 after purchasing an additional 68 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 90.88% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CAO Margaret Montemayor sold 4,600 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, June 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $160.00, for a total transaction of $736,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer owned 9,760 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,561,600. This represents a 32.03% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.92% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms recently weighed in on VST. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price objective on shares of Vistra from $240.00 to $231.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, April 30th. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price target on shares of Vistra from $236.00 to $234.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, February 27th. BMO Capital Markets reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $241.00 target price on shares of Vistra in a report on Monday, March 2nd. Morgan Stanley reissued an “overweight” rating and issued a $212.00 price target on shares of Vistra in a research note on Thursday, May 21st. Finally, TD Cowen reduced their price target on Vistra from $253.00 to $230.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, May 4th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirteen have issued a Buy rating and one has issued a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $233.33.

Vistra Trading Down 1.2%

NYSE:VST opened at $146.96 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.51, a current ratio of 0.90 and a quick ratio of 0.79. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $154.11 and its 200-day simple moving average is $160.93. Vistra Corp. has a fifty-two week low of $132.66 and a fifty-two week high of $219.82. The stock has a market capitalization of $49.55 billion, a PE ratio of 24.62 and a beta of 1.40.

Vistra (NYSE:VST) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, May 7th. The company reported $2.87 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.32 by $1.55. Vistra had a net margin of 11.52% and a return on equity of 105.64%. The firm had revenue of $5.64 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.22 billion. Sell-side analysts expect that Vistra Corp. will post 9.3 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Vistra Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 30th. Investors of record on Monday, June 22nd will be given a $0.229 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, June 22nd. This represents a $0.92 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.6%. This is an increase from Vistra’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.23. Vistra’s payout ratio is presently 15.24%.

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.