Wedbush Fund Advisers LLC Acquires Shares of 3,910 Vistra Corp. $VST

Wedbush Fund Advisers LLC acquired a new stake in Vistra Corp. (NYSE:VST) during the second quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm acquired 3,910 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $620,000.

Several other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of VST. Fideuram Intesa Sanpaolo Private Banking S.P.A. acquired a new position in shares of Vistra during the 4th quarter worth about $25,000. Mcguire Capital Advisors Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Vistra during the 4th quarter worth about $28,000. Kemnay Advisory Services Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Vistra during the 4th quarter worth about $30,000. Triumph Capital Management purchased a new stake in Vistra during the third quarter worth approximately $38,000. Finally, Strive Asset Management LLC acquired a new position in Vistra in the third quarter valued at approximately $38,000. 90.88% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have commented on the stock. Weiss Ratings lowered shares of Vistra from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “hold (c)” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 13th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their target price on shares of Vistra from $240.00 to $231.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, April 30th. Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on shares of Vistra from $212.00 to $227.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday. BNP Paribas Exane set a $255.00 price target on shares of Vistra in a research report on Wednesday, August 19th. Finally, Seaport Research Partners restated a “buy” rating and issued a $230.00 price objective on shares of Vistra in a research note on Monday, June 15th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fourteen have given a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $223.53.

Insider Buying and Selling at Vistra

In related news, Director Paul M. Barbas sold 244 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, June 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $153.00, for a total transaction of $37,332.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 53,006 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $8,109,918. This represents a 0.46% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, Director John R. Sult sold 6,500 shares of Vistra 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 sale, the director owned 70,714 shares in the company, valued at $12,021,380. This represents a 8.42% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. In the last three months, insiders sold 36,588 shares of company stock valued at $5,914,427. 0.92% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Vistra Price Performance

Vistra stock opened at $139.09 on Wednesday. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $152.99 and its 200 day simple moving average is $155.70. The firm has a market capitalization of $46.68 billion, a PE ratio of 23.50 and a beta of 1.41. Vistra Corp. has a 52 week low of $132.66 and a 52 week high of $219.82. The company has a quick ratio of 0.87, a current ratio of 0.97 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.87.

Vistra (NYSE:VST) last released its quarterly earnings results on Friday, August 7th. The company reported $0.76 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.61 by ($0.85). Vistra had a return on equity of 108.68% and a net margin of 11.55%.The firm had revenue of $4.02 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.46 billion. On average, equities research analysts predict that Vistra Corp. will post 9.21 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Vistra Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, September 30th. Stockholders of record on Monday, September 21st will be issued a $0.23 dividend. This is a positive change from Vistra’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.23. The ex-dividend date is Monday, September 21st. This represents a $0.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.7%. Vistra’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 15.54%.

About Vistra

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.