Ethic Inc. Increases Stock Position in Vistra Corp. $VST

Ethic Inc. raised its holdings in Vistra Corp. (NYSE:VST) by 9.5% during the second quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 5,531 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 478 shares during the quarter. Ethic Inc.’s holdings in Vistra were worth $1,079,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in VST. Banque Transatlantique SA boosted its holdings in Vistra by 132.0% in the 1st quarter. Banque Transatlantique SA now owns 232 shares of the company’s stock valued at $25,000 after purchasing an additional 132 shares in the last quarter. HM Payson & Co. boosted its stake in shares of Vistra by 275.4% during the 1st quarter. HM Payson & Co. now owns 229 shares of the company’s stock worth $27,000 after acquiring an additional 168 shares in the last quarter. Keener Financial Planning LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Vistra during the 1st quarter worth approximately $34,000. WPG Advisers LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Vistra during the 1st quarter worth approximately $37,000. Finally, Zions Bancorporation National Association UT purchased a new stake in shares of Vistra during the 1st quarter worth approximately $39,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 90.88% of the company’s stock.

Vistra Price Performance

VST stock opened at $201.62 on Monday. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $199.45 and its 200 day moving average price is $179.36. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 6.58, a quick ratio of 0.80 and a current ratio of 0.90. The firm has a market cap of $68.31 billion, a P/E ratio of 32.16, a PEG ratio of 2.86 and a beta of 1.33. Vistra Corp. has a 1 year low of $90.51 and a 1 year high of $219.82.

Vistra (NYSE:VST) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 7th. The company reported $1.01 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.63 by ($0.62). The business had revenue of $4.25 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.15 billion. Vistra had a net margin of 12.90% and a return on equity of 108.41%. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Vistra Corp. will post 7 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Vistra Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 30th. Shareholders of record on Friday, September 19th were issued a $0.226 dividend. This is a boost from Vistra’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.23. The ex-dividend date was Friday, September 19th. This represents a $0.90 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.4%. Vistra’s payout ratio is presently 14.35%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have recently commented on VST shares. Wall Street Zen lowered Vistra from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Friday, September 5th. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their price target on Vistra from $179.00 to $203.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 13th. Morgan Stanley boosted their price target on Vistra from $207.00 to $223.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, September 25th. Melius started coverage on Vistra in a research note on Wednesday, August 20th. They set a “buy” rating and a $295.00 price target on the stock. Finally, Daiwa America raised Vistra from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 17th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have issued a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $229.31.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Vistra news, CEO James A. Burke sold 43,074 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, September 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $208.75, for a total value of $8,991,697.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 217,025 shares in the company, valued at approximately $45,303,968.75. The trade was a 16.56% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. In the last three months, insiders sold 654,583 shares of company stock valued at $134,542,882. Insiders own 1.42% of the company’s stock.

About Vistra

Vistra Corp., together with its subsidiaries, operates as an integrated retail electricity and power generation company. The company operates through six segments: Retail, Texas, East, West, Sunset, and Asset Closure. It retails electricity and natural gas to residential, commercial, and industrial customers across states in the United States and the District of Columbia.