Vistra Corp. $VST Shares Bought by Vise Technologies Inc.

Vise Technologies Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Vistra Corp. (NYSE:VST) by 58.9% during the second quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 19,480 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 7,219 shares during the quarter. Vise Technologies Inc.’s holdings in Vistra were worth $3,090,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. BlackRock Inc. acquired a new stake in Vistra in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $4,610,496,000. Norges Bank bought a new stake in Vistra during the 4th quarter valued at $746,729,000. Capital World Investors acquired a new position in Vistra during the 4th quarter worth $574,499,000. Bank of New York Mellon Corp acquired a new position in Vistra during the 2nd quarter worth $381,938,000. Finally, Rubric Capital Management LP bought a new position in shares of Vistra in the fourth quarter worth $322,660,000. 90.88% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have recently commented on the company. Sanford C. Bernstein set a $187.00 price target on Vistra and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, June 16th. BNP Paribas Exane set a $255.00 price objective on shares of Vistra in a report on Wednesday. UBS Group decreased their target price 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. Jefferies Financial Group reissued a “buy” rating and set a $190.00 target price on shares of Vistra in a research note on Thursday, May 21st. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company restated an “overweight” rating and set a $212.00 price target on shares of Vistra in a research report on Monday, August 10th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirteen have assigned a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $226.94.

Insider Buying and Selling at Vistra

In other news, Director John R. Sult sold 6,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, June 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $170.00, for a total transaction of $1,105,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 70,714 shares in the company, valued at approximately $12,021,380. This trade represents a 8.42% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, Director Scott B. Helm sold 25,000 shares of Vistra 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 completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 232,200 shares in the company, valued at $37,152,000. This represents a 9.72% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders sold a total of 41,588 shares of company stock valued at $6,739,227 over the last 90 days. Insiders own 0.92% of the company’s stock.

Vistra Stock Down 1.8%

Shares of VST stock opened at $136.43 on Friday. Vistra Corp. has a 1 year low of $132.66 and a 1 year high of $219.82. The stock has a market cap of $45.79 billion, a PE ratio of 23.05 and a beta of 1.41. The business’s fifty day moving average is $153.73 and its 200-day moving average is $155.83. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.87, a quick ratio of 0.87 and a current ratio of 0.97.

Vistra (NYSE:VST) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Friday, August 7th. The company reported $0.76 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.61 by ($0.85). The firm had revenue of $4.02 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.46 billion. Vistra had a net margin of 11.55% and a return on equity of 108.68%. Equities analysts expect that Vistra Corp. will post 9.23 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Vistra Increases Dividend

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

Vistra Company 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.