Franklin Resources Inc. Sells 270,539 Shares of Vistra Corp. $VST

Franklin Resources Inc. decreased its stake in Vistra Corp. (NYSE:VST) by 9.1% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 2,713,329 shares of the company’s stock after selling 270,539 shares during the period. Franklin Resources Inc. owned approximately 0.80% of Vistra worth $437,741,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Bridgewater Advisors Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Vistra by 3.1% during the 3rd quarter. Bridgewater Advisors Inc. now owns 1,787 shares of the company’s stock worth $350,000 after purchasing an additional 53 shares during the period. Y.D. More Investments Ltd lifted its stake in shares of Vistra by 7.1% in the third quarter. Y.D. More Investments Ltd now owns 916 shares of the company’s stock valued at $168,000 after buying an additional 61 shares during the period. Equitable Holdings Inc. increased its stake in Vistra by 0.9% during the third quarter. Equitable Holdings Inc. now owns 7,045 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,380,000 after acquiring an additional 61 shares during the period. SOA Wealth Advisors LLC. raised its holdings in Vistra by 21.7% in the 4th quarter. SOA Wealth Advisors LLC. now owns 365 shares of the company’s stock valued at $59,000 after acquiring an additional 65 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Catalyst Financial Partners LLC lifted its position in shares of Vistra by 2.5% in the 3rd quarter. Catalyst Financial Partners LLC now owns 2,798 shares of the company’s stock worth $548,000 after acquiring an additional 68 shares during the period. 90.88% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price objective on Vistra from $236.00 to $234.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, February 27th. Jefferies Financial Group reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $190.00 target price on shares of Vistra in a research report on Thursday, May 21st. TD Cowen lowered their price target on shares of Vistra from $253.00 to $230.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, May 4th. Morgan Stanley restated an “overweight” rating and issued a $212.00 price objective on shares of Vistra in a research note on Thursday, May 21st. Finally, Raymond James Financial set a $208.00 price objective on shares of Vistra in a report on Monday, April 27th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirteen have assigned a Buy rating and one has assigned a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $233.33.

Insider Transactions at Vistra

In other Vistra news, CAO Margaret Montemayor sold 5,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $164.96, for a total value of $824,800.00. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer directly owned 14,360 shares in the company, valued at $2,368,825.60. The trade was a 25.83% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. 0.92% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Vistra Price Performance

Shares of VST stock opened at $146.96 on Tuesday. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $154.11 and its 200 day simple moving average is $160.93. Vistra Corp. has a one year low of $132.66 and a one year high of $219.82. The firm has a market cap of $49.55 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.62 and a beta of 1.40. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.51, a current ratio of 0.90 and a quick ratio of 0.79.

Vistra (NYSE:VST) last released its quarterly earnings data 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 return on equity of 105.64% and a net margin of 11.52%.The firm had revenue of $5.64 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.22 billion. On average, analysts expect that Vistra Corp. will post 9.3 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Vistra Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 30th. Investors of record on Monday, June 22nd will be given a dividend of $0.229 per share. This is an increase from Vistra’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.23. The ex-dividend date is 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 is 15.24%.

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.