Wedbush Securities Inc. Reduces Holdings in Vistra Corp. $VST

Wedbush Securities Inc. decreased its position in shares of Vistra Corp. (NYSE:VST) by 13.6% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 11,051 shares of the company’s stock after selling 1,741 shares during the quarter. Wedbush Securities Inc.’s holdings in Vistra were worth $2,142,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its holdings in Vistra by 0.3% during the first quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 4,190,462 shares of the company’s stock valued at $492,102,000 after purchasing an additional 11,386 shares during the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp raised its position in shares of Vistra by 1.9% in the first quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 3,083,842 shares of the company’s stock valued at $362,166,000 after purchasing an additional 57,358 shares during the period. Nuveen LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Vistra during the 1st quarter valued at approximately $209,149,000. Jennison Associates LLC boosted its holdings in Vistra by 23.8% in the 2nd quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 1,712,726 shares of the company’s stock worth $331,943,000 after buying an additional 329,294 shares during the period. Finally, UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC boosted its holdings in Vistra by 8.7% in the 1st quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 1,470,680 shares of the company’s stock worth $172,717,000 after buying an additional 118,230 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 90.88% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

VST has been the topic of several recent research reports. Melius started coverage on Vistra in a research report on Wednesday, August 20th. They set a “buy” rating and a $295.00 target price on the stock. Melius Research upgraded Vistra to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 20th. Daiwa America upgraded Vistra from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 17th. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their target price on Vistra from $179.00 to $203.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, August 13th. Finally, Cowen began coverage on shares of Vistra in a report on Wednesday, October 15th. They issued a “buy” rating on the stock. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twelve have issued a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $234.21.

Vistra Stock Performance

NYSE:VST opened at $190.65 on Friday. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $199.04 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $184.79. Vistra Corp. has a twelve month low of $90.51 and a twelve month high of $219.82. The stock has a market cap of $64.60 billion, a P/E ratio of 68.83, a PEG ratio of 2.71 and a beta of 1.30. The company has a quick ratio of 0.80, a current ratio of 0.90 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 6.58.

Vistra (NYSE:VST) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, November 6th. The company reported $1.75 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.78 by ($0.03). The business had revenue of $4.97 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.60 billion. Vistra had a return on equity of 64.88% and a net margin of 6.70%. As a group, equities analysts predict that Vistra Corp. will post 7 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Vistra Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, December 31st. Stockholders of record on Monday, December 22nd will be issued a $0.227 dividend. This represents a $0.91 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.5%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, December 22nd. This is a positive change from Vistra’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.23. Vistra’s payout ratio is currently 14.35%.

Insider Activity at Vistra

In other news, CEO James A. Burke sold 43,074 shares of Vistra stock in a transaction on Thursday, September 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $208.75, for a total transaction of $8,991,697.50. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 217,025 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $45,303,968.75. The trade was a 16.56% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 723,910 shares of company stock valued at $148,086,569. 1.42% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Vistra Company Profile

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.