EP Wealth Advisors LLC Purchases 178,303 Shares of Vistra Corp. $VST

EP Wealth Advisors LLC raised its position in Vistra Corp. (NYSE:VST) by 1,646.5% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 189,132 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 178,303 shares during the quarter. EP Wealth Advisors LLC owned 0.06% of Vistra worth $30,002,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Equitable Holdings Inc. boosted its position in shares of Vistra by 0.9% during the third quarter. Equitable Holdings Inc. now owns 7,045 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,380,000 after buying an additional 61 shares during the period. UMB Bank n.a. raised its position in Vistra by 3.8% in the 4th quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 1,770 shares of the company’s stock valued at $286,000 after buying an additional 65 shares during the last quarter. Rothschild Investment LLC raised its position in Vistra by 2.9% in the 4th quarter. Rothschild Investment LLC now owns 2,409 shares of the company’s stock valued at $389,000 after buying an additional 68 shares during the last quarter. Outlook Wealth Advisors LLC raised its position in Vistra by 4.9% in the 1st quarter. Outlook Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,511 shares of the company’s stock valued at $227,000 after buying an additional 70 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Principle Wealth Partners LLC lifted its stake in Vistra by 0.5% in the 4th quarter. Principle Wealth Partners LLC now owns 14,462 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,333,000 after acquiring an additional 73 shares in the last quarter. 90.88% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Vistra Stock Down 1.8%

Vistra stock opened at $136.43 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $45.79 billion, a PE ratio of 23.05 and a beta of 1.41. The company’s 50-day moving average is $153.73 and its 200-day moving average is $155.83. Vistra Corp. has a fifty-two week low of $132.66 and a fifty-two week high of $219.82. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.87, a current ratio of 0.97 and a quick ratio of 0.87.

Vistra (NYSE:VST) last issued its earnings results on Friday, August 7th. The company reported $0.76 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.61 by ($0.85). Vistra had a net margin of 11.55% and a return on equity of 108.68%. The firm had revenue of $4.02 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.46 billion. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Vistra Corp. will post 9.23 earnings per share for the current year.

Vistra Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, September 30th. Shareholders of record on Monday, September 21st will be given a dividend of $0.23 per share. This represents a $0.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.7%. This is a boost from Vistra’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.23. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, September 21st. Vistra’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 15.54%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Paul M. Barbas sold 244 shares of Vistra stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, June 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $153.00, for a total transaction of $37,332.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 53,006 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,109,918. The trade was a 0.46% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, Director Scott B. Helm sold 25,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, June 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $160.00, for a total value of $4,000,000.00. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 232,200 shares in the company, valued at $37,152,000. The trade was a 9.72% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders have sold 41,588 shares of company stock worth $6,739,227 over the last ninety days. 0.92% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on VST shares. UBS Group reduced their price target on Vistra from $233.00 to $227.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, July 28th. Weiss Ratings downgraded shares of Vistra from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “hold (c)” rating in a report on Thursday, August 13th. Raymond James Financial set a $208.00 price objective on shares of Vistra in a research report on Monday, April 27th. Morgan Stanley increased their target price on shares of Vistra from $212.00 to $227.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group set a $206.00 target price on shares of Vistra in a research report on Wednesday, August 12th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirteen have assigned a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $226.94.

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.