Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio Invests $25.43 Million in Vistra Corp. $VST

Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio bought a new position in Vistra Corp. (NYSE:VST) during the second quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm bought 160,327 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $25,433,000.

A number of other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of VST. Fideuram Intesa Sanpaolo Private Banking S.P.A. bought a new stake in Vistra during the fourth quarter valued at about $25,000. Mcguire Capital Advisors Inc. bought a new position in shares of Vistra in the fourth quarter worth about $28,000. Kemnay Advisory Services Inc. bought a new position in shares of Vistra in the fourth quarter worth about $30,000. Strive Financial Group LLC bought a new position in shares of Vistra in the fourth quarter worth about $33,000. Finally, IFC & Insurance Marketing Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Vistra during the 4th quarter valued at about $35,000. 90.88% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at Vistra

In other news, Director Scott B. Helm sold 25,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, June 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $160.00, for a total transaction of $4,000,000.00. Following the sale, the director directly owned 232,200 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $37,152,000. This represents a 9.72% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, CAO Margaret Montemayor sold 4,600 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, June 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $160.00, for a total value of $736,000.00. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer owned 9,760 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,561,600. This represents a 32.03% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders sold a total of 36,588 shares of company stock valued at $5,914,427 in the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 0.92% of the company’s stock.

Vistra Price Performance

VST stock opened at $137.16 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.87, a quick ratio of 0.87 and a current ratio of 0.97. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $151.62 and its 200-day moving average price is $155.48. Vistra Corp. has a one year low of $132.66 and a one year high of $219.82. The company has a market capitalization of $46.04 billion, a PE ratio of 23.17 and a beta of 1.41.

Vistra (NYSE:VST) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Friday, August 7th. The company reported $0.76 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.61 by ($0.85). The company had revenue of $4.02 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.46 billion. Vistra had a net margin of 11.55% and a return on equity of 108.68%. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Vistra Corp. will post 9.21 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Vistra Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, September 30th. Investors of record on Monday, September 21st will be paid a dividend of $0.23 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, September 21st. This is a boost from Vistra’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.23. This represents a $0.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.7%. Vistra’s dividend payout ratio is currently 15.54%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on VST. Sanford C. Bernstein set a $187.00 price objective on Vistra and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, June 16th. Jefferies Financial Group restated a “buy” rating and set a $190.00 target price on shares of Vistra in a research note on Thursday, May 21st. TD Cowen lowered their price target on shares of Vistra from $222.00 to $221.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, August 19th. UBS Group dropped their price target on shares of Vistra from $233.00 to $227.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, July 28th. Finally, Morgan Stanley increased their price objective on shares of Vistra from $212.00 to $227.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, August 21st. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fourteen have issued a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Vistra has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $223.53.

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.