Vistra Corp. $VST Shares Sold by Farringdon Capital Ltd.

Farringdon Capital Ltd. lessened its stake in shares of Vistra Corp. (NYSE:VST) by 86.8% in the second quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 1,460 shares of the company’s stock after selling 9,635 shares during the period. Farringdon Capital Ltd.’s holdings in Vistra were worth $232,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its stake in Vistra by 0.9% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 41,588,784 shares of the company’s stock worth $6,709,519,000 after purchasing an additional 390,157 shares in the last quarter. BlackRock Inc. purchased a new stake in Vistra during the second quarter valued at about $4,610,496,000. State Street Corp lifted its stake in Vistra by 2.7% during the fourth quarter. State Street Corp now owns 16,474,869 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,657,891,000 after buying an additional 432,028 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Vistra by 1.1% in the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 8,965,648 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,441,112,000 after buying an additional 97,424 shares during the period. Finally, Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of Vistra in the fourth quarter worth about $746,729,000. 90.88% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity at Vistra

In related news, Director Paul M. Barbas sold 244 shares of the stock in a transaction 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 sale, the director directly owned 53,006 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,109,918. This trade represents a 0.46% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing 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, 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 approximately $2,368,825.60. The trade was a 25.83% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 41,588 shares of company stock valued at $6,739,227. Insiders own 0.92% of the company’s stock.

Vistra Price Performance

NYSE VST opened at $136.43 on Friday. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $153.73 and a 200-day simple moving average of $155.83. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.87, a current ratio of 0.97 and a quick ratio of 0.87. The firm has a market capitalization of $45.79 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.05 and a beta of 1.41. Vistra Corp. has a 52-week low of $132.66 and a 52-week high of $219.82.

Vistra (NYSE:VST) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Friday, August 7th. The company reported $0.76 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.61 by ($0.85). The company had revenue of $4.02 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.46 billion. Vistra had a net margin of 11.55% and a return on equity of 108.68%. Equities research analysts predict that Vistra Corp. will post 9.23 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Vistra Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, September 30th. Stockholders of record on Monday, September 21st will be issued a dividend of $0.23 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, September 21st. This represents a $0.92 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.7%. This is an increase from Vistra’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.23. Vistra’s dividend payout ratio is presently 15.54%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts recently commented on the stock. Zacks Research downgraded shares of Vistra from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 18th. Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective on shares of Vistra from $212.00 to $227.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday. Raymond James Financial set a $208.00 target price on shares of Vistra in a research note on Monday, April 27th. The Goldman Sachs Group set a $206.00 target price on Vistra in a report on Wednesday, August 12th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their target price on Vistra from $240.00 to $231.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, April 30th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirteen have given a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target 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.