First Trust Advisors LP Decreases Stock Holdings in Vistra Corp. $VST

First Trust Advisors LP lowered its holdings in Vistra Corp. (NYSE:VST) by 59.5% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 248,024 shares of the company’s stock after selling 364,920 shares during the period. First Trust Advisors LP’s holdings in Vistra were worth $37,285,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in VST. Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of Vistra during the 4th quarter valued at $746,729,000. Capital World Investors purchased a new position in Vistra in the fourth quarter valued at about $574,499,000. Rubric Capital Management LP purchased a new position in Vistra in the fourth quarter valued at about $322,660,000. Amundi lifted its position in Vistra by 72.3% during the 4th quarter. Amundi now owns 1,949,568 shares of the company’s stock worth $314,524,000 after acquiring an additional 817,876 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Corient Private Wealth LLC grew its holdings in Vistra by 585.0% during the 4th quarter. Corient Private Wealth LLC now owns 907,611 shares of the company’s stock valued at $146,425,000 after purchasing an additional 775,104 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 90.88% of the company’s stock.

Vistra Stock Down 3.8%

VST stock opened at $157.09 on Tuesday. The stock has a market cap of $52.97 billion, a PE ratio of 26.31 and a beta of 1.40. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $156.46 and its 200 day simple moving average is $158.35. Vistra Corp. has a fifty-two week low of $132.66 and a fifty-two week high of $219.82. The company has a quick ratio of 0.79, a current ratio of 0.90 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.51.

Vistra (NYSE:VST) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, May 7th. The company reported $2.87 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates 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 during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.22 billion. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Vistra Corp. will post 9.52 EPS for the current year.

Vistra Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, June 30th. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 22nd were issued a dividend of $0.229 per share. This represents a $0.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.6%. This is a boost from Vistra’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.23. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, June 22nd. Vistra’s dividend payout ratio is presently 15.41%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts recently issued reports on VST shares. Scotiabank lifted their price target on shares of Vistra from $293.00 to $298.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 15th. TD Cowen reduced their price target on shares of Vistra from $230.00 to $222.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday. Raymond James Financial set a $208.00 price target on shares of Vistra in a report on Monday, April 27th. Jefferies Financial Group reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $190.00 price objective on shares of Vistra in a research report on Thursday, May 21st. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein set a $187.00 price objective on shares of Vistra and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, June 16th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirteen have issued a Buy rating and one has given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $230.12.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director John R. Sult sold 6,500 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, June 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $170.00, for a total value of $1,105,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 70,714 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $12,021,380. This represents a 8.42% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, CAO Margaret Montemayor sold 5,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $164.96, for a total value of $824,800.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer owned 14,360 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,368,825.60. This represents a 25.83% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 41,588 shares of company stock valued at $6,739,227. Corporate insiders own 0.92% of the company’s stock.

Vistra Profile

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.