Union Bancaire Privee UBP SA Buys 5,832 Shares of Vistra Corp. $VST

Union Bancaire Privee UBP SA raised its stake in shares of Vistra Corp. (NYSE:VST) by 6.4% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 97,366 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 5,832 shares during the quarter. Union Bancaire Privee UBP SA’s holdings in Vistra were worth $15,708,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of VST. Norges Bank bought a new position in Vistra in the 2nd quarter worth about $930,080,000. Alkeon Capital Management LLC increased its stake in Vistra by 280.6% during the 2nd quarter. Alkeon Capital Management LLC now owns 1,356,357 shares of the company’s stock valued at $262,876,000 after purchasing an additional 1,000,000 shares in the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA raised its holdings in Vistra by 15.1% in the third quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 7,106,465 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,392,299,000 after buying an additional 930,912 shares during the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. raised its holdings in Vistra by 25.2% in the second quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 4,537,384 shares of the company’s stock worth $879,390,000 after buying an additional 913,350 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Palidye Holdings Caymans Ltd bought a new position in shares of Vistra in the second quarter worth approximately $145,987,000. 90.88% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Vistra Trading Down 1.7%

NYSE:VST opened at $167.24 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $56.67 billion, a PE ratio of 77.07, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.02 and a beta of 1.42. The company has a current ratio of 0.78, a quick ratio of 0.69 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 6.01. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $164.01 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $177.68. Vistra Corp. has a 12 month low of $90.51 and a 12 month high of $219.82.

Vistra (NYSE:VST) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 26th. The company reported $2.18 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.45 by ($0.27). Vistra had a net margin of 5.32% and a return on equity of 81.09%. The firm had revenue of $4.58 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.75 billion. Research analysts forecast that Vistra Corp. will post 7 earnings per share for the current year.

Vistra Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 31st. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 20th will be paid a dividend of $0.228 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 20th. This represents a $0.91 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.5%. This is an increase from Vistra’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.23. Vistra’s dividend payout ratio is presently 41.94%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have recently commented on VST. Bank of America cut their price target on shares of Vistra from $231.00 to $218.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, January 12th. Jefferies Financial Group raised Vistra from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their price objective for the company from $191.00 to $203.00 in a research report on Tuesday, February 10th. Wells Fargo & Company cut their target price on Vistra from $236.00 to $234.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, February 27th. UBS Group boosted their price target on Vistra from $230.00 to $233.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, January 12th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $241.00 price target on shares of Vistra in a report on Monday, March 2nd. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twelve have issued a Buy rating and one has issued a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $236.87.

Insider Activity at Vistra

In other news, EVP Stephanie Zapata Moore sold 10,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $160.31, for a total transaction of $1,603,100.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 114,409 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $18,340,906.79. This represents a 8.04% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. 1.42% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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.