Janney Montgomery Scott LLC Trims Holdings in Vistra Corp. $VST

Janney Montgomery Scott LLC lowered its stake in shares of Vistra Corp. (NYSE:VST) by 11.3% in the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 178,774 shares of the company’s stock after selling 22,740 shares during the quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC’s holdings in Vistra were worth $26,875,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Vistra during the fourth quarter worth $746,729,000. Payden & Rygel lifted its position in shares of Vistra by 3,118.2% in the 4th quarter. Payden & Rygel now owns 35,400 shares of the company’s stock worth $5,711,000 after buying an additional 34,300 shares during the last quarter. Signature Estate & Investment Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Vistra in the 4th quarter valued at about $29,875,000. Legal & General Group Plc grew its position in shares of Vistra by 12.2% during the 4th quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 1,768,694 shares of the company’s stock valued at $285,343,000 after buying an additional 192,274 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Intech Investment Management LLC grew its position in shares of Vistra by 34.4% during the 4th quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC now owns 188,921 shares of the company’s stock valued at $30,479,000 after buying an additional 48,378 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 90.88% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Vistra

In other news, Director Paul M. Barbas sold 244 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred 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 directly owned 53,006 shares in the company, valued at $8,109,918. This trade represents a 0.46% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, Director John R. Sult sold 6,500 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, June 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $170.00, for a total transaction of $1,105,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 70,714 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $12,021,380. This trade represents a 8.42% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders sold a total of 41,588 shares of company stock worth $6,739,227 in the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 0.92% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms recently weighed in on VST. Raymond James Financial set a $208.00 price objective on shares of Vistra in a research note on Monday, April 27th. Jefferies Financial Group reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $190.00 price target on shares of Vistra in a research report on Thursday, May 21st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price target on Vistra from $240.00 to $231.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, April 30th. Sanford C. Bernstein set a $187.00 price objective on Vistra and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, June 16th. Finally, TD Cowen lowered their price objective on Vistra from $253.00 to $230.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, May 4th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirteen have issued a Buy rating and one has issued a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $230.31.

Vistra Trading Down 0.6%

Shares of VST stock opened at $162.45 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.51, a quick ratio of 0.79 and a current ratio of 0.90. Vistra Corp. has a 1 year low of $132.66 and a 1 year high of $219.82. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $154.76 and a two-hundred day moving average of $159.31. The firm has a market capitalization of $54.77 billion, a PE ratio of 27.21 and a beta of 1.40.

Vistra (NYSE:VST) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 7th. The company reported $2.87 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.32 by $1.55. Vistra had a return on equity of 105.64% and a net margin of 11.52%.The company had revenue of $5.64 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.22 billion. As a group, research analysts expect that Vistra Corp. will post 9.52 EPS for the current year.

Vistra Increases Dividend

The business 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 $0.229 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, June 22nd. This represents a $0.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.6%. This is a boost from Vistra’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.23. Vistra’s payout ratio is currently 15.41%.

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.