Vistra Corp. $VST Shares Sold by Quaero Capital S.A.

Quaero Capital S.A. lowered its stake in shares of Vistra Corp. (NYSE:VST) by 12.6% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 2,186 shares of the company’s stock after selling 314 shares during the quarter. Quaero Capital S.A.’s holdings in Vistra were worth $424,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. ELCO Management Co. LLC acquired a new position in Vistra during the 2nd quarter worth $499,000. Peak Financial Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Vistra during the 2nd quarter worth $547,000. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. grew its stake in Vistra by 29.1% in the first quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 255,629 shares of the company’s stock worth $30,021,000 after purchasing an additional 57,551 shares in the last quarter. Tcfg Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in Vistra in the second quarter worth about $258,000. Finally, Modus Advisors LLC grew its stake in Vistra by 5.9% in the second quarter. Modus Advisors LLC now owns 22,422 shares of the company’s stock worth $4,346,000 after purchasing an additional 1,240 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 90.88% of the company’s stock.

Vistra Stock Performance

Shares of VST opened at $189.34 on Thursday. Vistra Corp. has a 1 year low of $90.51 and a 1 year high of $219.82. The company has a market cap of $64.15 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 30.20, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.64 and a beta of 1.30. 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 firm has a fifty day moving average of $199.26 and a 200-day moving average of $183.70.

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

Vistra Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, December 31st. Stockholders of record on Monday, December 22nd will be given a dividend of $0.227 per share. This is a boost from Vistra’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.23. This represents a $0.91 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.5%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, December 22nd. Vistra’s payout ratio is presently 14.35%.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO James A. Burke sold 43,074 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, September 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $208.75, for a total transaction 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. The trade was a 16.56% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Insiders sold 723,910 shares of company stock worth $148,086,569 in the last three months. Insiders own 1.42% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms recently commented on VST. Melius began coverage on Vistra in a research note on Wednesday, August 20th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $295.00 price target for the company. Cowen initiated coverage on Vistra in a research report on Wednesday, October 15th. They issued a “buy” rating for the company. Jefferies Financial Group reaffirmed a “hold” rating and issued a $230.00 price objective (down previously from $241.00) on shares of Vistra in a report on Monday, September 22nd. UBS Group lifted their price objective on shares of Vistra from $207.00 to $230.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, July 25th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on shares of Vistra from $227.00 to $248.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, September 24th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twelve have assigned a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $229.93.

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.