Vistra Corp. $VST Shares Sold by First Trust Advisors LP

First Trust Advisors LP lowered its stake in Vistra Corp. (NYSE:VST) by 59.5% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 248,024 shares of the company’s stock after selling 364,920 shares during the quarter. First Trust Advisors LP owned approximately 0.07% of Vistra worth $37,285,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its position in shares of Vistra by 0.9% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 41,588,784 shares of the company’s stock valued at $6,709,519,000 after acquiring an additional 390,157 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp increased its position in Vistra by 2.7% during the 4th quarter. State Street Corp now owns 16,474,869 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,657,891,000 after purchasing an additional 432,028 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its stake in Vistra by 1.1% in the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 8,965,648 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,441,112,000 after purchasing an additional 97,424 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new position in Vistra in the 4th quarter valued at about $746,729,000. Finally, Invesco Ltd. lifted its holdings in Vistra by 0.8% in the 3rd quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 4,572,642 shares of the company’s stock valued at $895,872,000 after purchasing an additional 35,258 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 90.88% of the company’s stock.

Vistra Trading Down 3.8%

NYSE VST opened at $157.09 on Tuesday. The company has a market cap of $52.97 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.31 and a beta of 1.40. Vistra Corp. has a 12 month low of $132.66 and a 12 month high of $219.82. 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 company has a 50-day moving average of $156.46 and a 200-day moving average of $158.35.

Vistra (NYSE:VST) last released its earnings results on Thursday, May 7th. The company reported $2.87 earnings per share (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 business had revenue of $5.64 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.22 billion. As a group, equities analysts predict that Vistra Corp. will post 9.52 earnings per share for the current year.

Vistra Increases Dividend

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

Insider Activity at Vistra

In other news, Director John R. Sult sold 6,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, June 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $170.00, for a total transaction of $1,105,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 70,714 shares in the company, valued at $12,021,380. This represents a 8.42% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, Director Paul M. Barbas sold 244 shares of Vistra stock in a transaction on Monday, June 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $153.00, for a total value of $37,332.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 53,006 shares in the company, valued at $8,109,918. The trade was a 0.46% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders sold 41,588 shares of company stock valued at $6,739,227 over the last quarter. 0.92% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have issued reports on the stock. Weiss Ratings cut shares of Vistra from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “hold (c)” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 16th. Morgan Stanley reissued an “overweight” rating on shares of Vistra in a research report on Wednesday, July 22nd. Scotiabank upped their price objective on shares of Vistra from $293.00 to $298.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 15th. TD Cowen decreased their target price on shares of Vistra from $230.00 to $222.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $190.00 target price on shares of Vistra in a research note on Thursday, May 21st. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirteen have issued a Buy rating and one has assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $230.12.

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.