Vistra Corp. $VST Shares Acquired by NewEdge Wealth LLC

NewEdge Wealth LLC grew its stake in Vistra Corp. (NYSE:VST) by 4.8% in the second quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 446,431 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 20,636 shares during the quarter. NewEdge Wealth LLC’s holdings in Vistra were worth $70,817,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Empowered Funds LLC grew its holdings in Vistra by 24.1% in the 1st quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 20,190 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,371,000 after buying an additional 3,920 shares in the last quarter. Woodline Partners LP raised its holdings in shares of Vistra by 40.7% during the 1st quarter. Woodline Partners LP now owns 28,744 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,376,000 after acquiring an additional 8,312 shares during the period. Focus Partners Wealth boosted its position in shares of Vistra by 37.3% during the 1st quarter. Focus Partners Wealth now owns 7,828 shares of the company’s stock valued at $920,000 after acquiring an additional 2,125 shares during the last quarter. Sivia Capital Partners LLC acquired a new position in shares of Vistra during the 2nd quarter valued at about $269,000. Finally, Slocum Gordon & Co LLP grew its holdings in shares of Vistra by 20.0% in the second quarter. Slocum Gordon & Co LLP now owns 1,200 shares of the company’s stock valued at $233,000 after purchasing an additional 200 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 90.88% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

VST has been the subject of several analyst reports. TD Cowen lowered their price objective on Vistra from $222.00 to $221.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday. The Goldman Sachs Group set a $206.00 price objective on shares of Vistra in a report on Wednesday, August 12th. Sanford C. Bernstein set a $187.00 target price on shares of Vistra and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, June 16th. Wells Fargo & Company reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and set a $212.00 target price on shares of Vistra in a research note on Monday, August 10th. Finally, Zacks Research upgraded shares of Vistra from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Monday, July 20th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirteen have given a Buy rating and one has assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Vistra presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $226.00.

Insider Transactions at Vistra

In other news, Director Paul M. Barbas sold 244 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, June 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $153.00, for a total transaction of $37,332.00. Following the sale, the director owned 53,006 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $8,109,918. This represents a 0.46% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed 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 the firm’s 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 directly owned 70,714 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $12,021,380. The trade was a 8.42% decrease in their position. 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. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 41,588 shares of company stock valued at $6,739,227. 0.92% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Vistra Stock Up 1.4%

NYSE:VST opened at $142.44 on Thursday. Vistra Corp. has a 52 week low of $132.66 and a 52 week high of $219.82. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $154.10 and its two-hundred day moving average is $156.11. The stock has a market capitalization of $47.81 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.06 and a beta of 1.41. 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 issued its quarterly earnings data on Friday, August 7th. The company reported $0.76 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.61 by ($0.85). The firm had revenue of $4.02 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.46 billion. Vistra had a net margin of 11.55% and a return on equity of 108.68%. Research analysts anticipate that Vistra Corp. will post 9.23 EPS for the current year.

Vistra Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, September 30th. Shareholders of record on Monday, September 21st will be given a $0.23 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, September 21st. This represents a $0.92 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.6%. This is an increase from Vistra’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.23. Vistra’s dividend payout ratio is presently 15.54%.

Vistra 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.