Principal Financial Group Inc. Increases Stake in Vistra Corp. $VST

Principal Financial Group Inc. boosted its position in Vistra Corp. (NYSE:VST) by 2.0% during the first quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 395,141 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 7,888 shares during the quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc.’s holdings in Vistra were worth $59,402,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Fideuram Intesa Sanpaolo Private Banking S.P.A. bought a new position in Vistra during the fourth quarter worth about $25,000. Mcguire Capital Advisors Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Vistra in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Kemnay Advisory Services Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Vistra in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Strive Financial Group LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Vistra during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $33,000. Finally, Salomon & Ludwin LLC lifted its stake in shares of Vistra by 74.8% during the 4th quarter. Salomon & Ludwin LLC now owns 215 shares of the company’s stock valued at $35,000 after buying an additional 92 shares in the last quarter. 90.88% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Vistra News Summary

Here are the key news stories impacting Vistra this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Scotiabank raised its FY2026 and FY2027 earnings estimates for Vistra, while keeping an Outperform rating and a $298 price target, reinforcing the view that earnings can keep growing. Scotiabank Raises Vistra Estimates
• Positive Sentiment: News that Vistra secured PJM capacity points to better future revenue visibility, which investors typically view as supportive for utility and power producer stocks. Vistra Secures PJM Capacity
• Positive Sentiment: Coverage highlighting rising demand from data centers and increased capital investments in nuclear, solar, storage, and gas assets suggests Vistra could benefit from long-term load growth and reliable earnings expansion. Vistra Benefiting From Data Center Demand
• Positive Sentiment: KeyBanc reaffirmed its Buy rating, adding to the bullish analyst tone around the stock. KeyBanc Sticks to Buy Rating
• Neutral Sentiment: Vistra was also mentioned in media coverage and trading commentary as a stock showing momentum, which may reflect investor enthusiasm but does not add new fundamental information. Vistra Rises Higher Than Market

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

VST has been the subject of several analyst reports. Sanford C. Bernstein set a $187.00 price objective on shares of Vistra and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, June 16th. Seaport Research Partners restated a “buy” rating and set a $230.00 target price on shares of Vistra in a research report on Monday, June 15th. TD Cowen cut their price target on Vistra from $253.00 to $230.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Monday, May 4th. Raymond James Financial set a $208.00 price target on Vistra in a research report on Monday, April 27th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price objective on Vistra from $240.00 to $231.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, April 30th. Two 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, the company has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $230.62.

Vistra Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:VST opened at $155.12 on Friday. The company has a 50 day moving average of $154.14 and a 200 day moving average of $158.42. The stock has a market cap of $52.30 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.98 and a beta of 1.40. Vistra Corp. has a 12 month low of $132.66 and a 12 month high of $219.82. The company has a current ratio of 0.90, a quick ratio of 0.79 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.51.

Vistra (NYSE:VST) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, May 7th. The company reported $2.87 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.32 by $1.55. Vistra had a net margin of 11.52% and a return on equity of 105.64%. The business had revenue of $5.64 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.22 billion. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Vistra Corp. will post 9.53 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Vistra Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, June 30th. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 22nd were issued a $0.229 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, June 22nd. This is an increase from Vistra’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.23. This represents a $0.92 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.6%. Vistra’s payout ratio is currently 15.41%.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Scott B. Helm sold 25,000 shares of the stock in a transaction 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 sale, the director owned 232,200 shares in the company, valued at approximately $37,152,000. This trade represents a 9.72% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, CAO Margaret Montemayor sold 5,000 shares of Vistra stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $164.96, for a total value of $824,800.00. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer directly owned 14,360 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,368,825.60. This represents a 25.83% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. In the last three months, insiders sold 41,588 shares of company stock worth $6,739,227. Company insiders own 0.92% of the company’s stock.

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.