Apexium Financial LP Has $437,000 Position in Vistra Corp. $VST

Apexium Financial LP increased its stake in shares of Vistra Corp. (NYSE:VST) by 7.1% during the second quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 2,253 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 150 shares during the quarter. Apexium Financial LP’s holdings in Vistra were worth $437,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in VST. Nuveen LLC acquired a new stake in Vistra during the first quarter worth approximately $209,149,000. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. grew its position in Vistra by 2,341.6% during the second quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 865,562 shares of the company’s stock worth $167,755,000 after buying an additional 830,111 shares in the last quarter. Fred Alger Management LLC grew its position in Vistra by 102.5% during the first quarter. Fred Alger Management LLC now owns 973,339 shares of the company’s stock worth $114,309,000 after buying an additional 492,765 shares in the last quarter. 140 Summer Partners LP acquired a new stake in Vistra during the first quarter worth approximately $56,876,000. Finally, Hsbc Holdings PLC grew its position in Vistra by 52.2% during the first quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC now owns 943,057 shares of the company’s stock worth $109,761,000 after buying an additional 323,264 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 90.88% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have weighed in on VST. Morgan Stanley raised their target price on Vistra from $207.00 to $223.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, September 25th. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their target price on Vistra from $179.00 to $203.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, August 13th. Daiwa America raised Vistra from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, September 17th. BMO Capital Markets raised their target price on Vistra from $229.00 to $236.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on Vistra from $227.00 to $248.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, September 24th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twelve have given a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $224.21.

Vistra Stock Down 0.2%

Shares of VST opened at $202.25 on Friday. Vistra Corp. has a 52 week low of $90.51 and a 52 week high of $219.82. The stock has a market capitalization of $68.53 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 32.26, a PEG ratio of 3.02 and a beta of 1.33. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 6.58, a quick ratio of 0.80 and a current ratio of 0.90. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $200.57 and a 200-day moving average of $170.34.

Vistra (NYSE:VST) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 7th. The company reported $1.01 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.63 by ($0.62). Vistra had a net margin of 12.90% and a return on equity of 108.41%. The firm had revenue of $4.25 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.15 billion. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Vistra Corp. will post 7 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Vistra Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 30th. Stockholders of record on Friday, September 19th were paid a $0.226 dividend. This represents a $0.90 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.4%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, September 19th. This is a positive change from Vistra’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.23. Vistra’s dividend payout ratio is currently 14.35%.

Insider Activity at Vistra

In other news, CEO James A. Burke sold 43,074 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, September 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $208.75, for a total value of $8,991,697.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 217,025 shares in the company, valued at approximately $45,303,968.75. This represents a 16.56% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In the last three months, insiders sold 358,274 shares of company stock valued at $73,886,457. 1.42% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Vistra Company Profile

Vistra Corp., together with its subsidiaries, operates as an integrated retail electricity and power generation company. The company operates through six segments: Retail, Texas, East, West, Sunset, and Asset Closure. It retails electricity and natural gas to residential, commercial, and industrial customers across states in the United States and the District of Columbia.