Vistra Corp. $VST Shares Purchased by Swiss National Bank

Swiss National Bank raised its holdings in shares of Vistra Corp. (NYSE:VST) by 7.3% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 1,029,773 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 70,300 shares during the period. Swiss National Bank owned about 0.30% of Vistra worth $199,580,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the business. Banque Transatlantique SA boosted its holdings in shares of Vistra by 132.0% in the 1st quarter. Banque Transatlantique SA now owns 232 shares of the company’s stock valued at $25,000 after buying an additional 132 shares during the period. Anfield Capital Management LLC bought a new position in Vistra in the second quarter worth about $29,000. City State Bank lifted its holdings in Vistra by 210.0% in the second quarter. City State Bank now owns 155 shares of the company’s stock worth $30,000 after acquiring an additional 105 shares during the last quarter. Keener Financial Planning LLC acquired a new position in Vistra in the first quarter valued at approximately $34,000. Finally, WPG Advisers LLC bought a new position in shares of Vistra during the first quarter valued at approximately $37,000. 90.88% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, EVP Carrie Lee Kirby sold 58,275 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $174.75, for a total value of $10,183,556.25. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 218,239 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $38,137,265.25. This represents a 21.07% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, CEO James A. Burke sold 21,935 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, November 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $186.53, for a total transaction of $4,091,535.55. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 271,074 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $50,563,433.22. This trade represents a 7.49% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. In the last three months, insiders have sold 860,120 shares of company stock worth $171,817,820. 1.42% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts recently issued reports on the company. Melius Research raised Vistra to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, August 20th. Wells Fargo & Company started coverage on Vistra in a research report on Monday, October 27th. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $238.00 target price on the stock. Cowen started coverage on Vistra in a research note on Wednesday, October 15th. They issued a “buy” rating on the stock. TD Cowen started coverage on shares of Vistra in a report on Thursday, October 16th. They set a “buy” rating and a $250.00 price target for the company. Finally, Daiwa America raised shares of Vistra from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, September 17th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have assigned a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Vistra presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $234.36.

Vistra Trading Down 3.2%

Shares of VST stock opened at $168.28 on Friday. Vistra Corp. has a 1 year low of $90.51 and a 1 year high of $219.82. The firm has a market capitalization of $57.02 billion, a PE ratio of 60.75, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.17 and a beta of 1.30. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $195.37 and a two-hundred day moving average of $187.58. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.74, a quick ratio of 0.88 and a current ratio of 0.99.

Vistra (NYSE:VST) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Friday, November 7th. The company reported $1.75 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.78 by ($0.03). Vistra had a net margin of 6.70% and a return on equity of 64.04%. The business had revenue of $4.97 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.60 billion. As a group, research analysts expect that Vistra Corp. will post 7 EPS for the current year.

Vistra Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, December 31st. Shareholders of record on Monday, December 22nd will be given a dividend of $0.227 per share. This is a positive change from Vistra’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.23. The ex-dividend date is Monday, December 22nd. This represents a $0.91 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.5%. Vistra’s payout ratio is presently 32.49%.

Vistra 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.