Columbia Bank Increases Holdings in Vistra Corp. $VST

Columbia Bank boosted its stake in shares of Vistra Corp. (NYSE:VST) by 12.6% during the second quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 3,706 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 416 shares during the period. Columbia Bank’s holdings in Vistra were worth $705,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the stock. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA raised its holdings in shares of Vistra by 4.4% during the 2nd quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 6,175,553 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,196,884,000 after acquiring an additional 258,983 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its holdings in shares of Vistra by 0.3% in 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 period. Northern Trust Corp increased its position in Vistra by 1.9% during the first quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 3,083,842 shares of the company’s stock worth $362,166,000 after purchasing an additional 57,358 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its stake in Vistra by 1.7% during the second quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 2,099,120 shares of the company’s stock worth $406,830,000 after purchasing an additional 35,444 shares during the period. Finally, Nuveen LLC purchased a new position in Vistra during the first quarter worth about $209,149,000. 90.88% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have recently weighed in on VST shares. KeyCorp assumed coverage on shares of Vistra in a research note on Monday. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $217.00 price target for the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on Vistra from $227.00 to $248.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, September 24th. BMO Capital Markets increased their price objective on Vistra from $236.00 to $245.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, November 7th. Melius began coverage on Vistra in a research report on Wednesday, August 20th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $295.00 target price on the stock. Finally, Cowen assumed coverage on Vistra in a research note on Wednesday, October 15th. They issued a “buy” rating on the stock. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twelve have given a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Vistra currently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $233.20.

Insider Activity

In related news, CEO James A. Burke sold 43,074 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 217,025 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $45,303,968.75. This represents a 16.56% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Scott A. Hudson sold 56,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $168.86, for a total transaction of $9,456,160.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president owned 306,600 shares in the company, valued at approximately $51,772,476. This trade represents a 15.44% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 860,120 shares of company stock valued at $171,817,820. 1.42% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Vistra Trading Up 3.8%

Shares of NYSE VST opened at $174.95 on Tuesday. The company has a current ratio of 0.99, a quick ratio of 0.88 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.74. The stock has a market capitalization of $59.28 billion, a PE ratio of 63.16, a PEG ratio of 2.11 and a beta of 1.30. Vistra Corp. has a twelve month low of $90.51 and a twelve month high of $219.82. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $194.61 and a 200-day simple moving average of $188.46.

Vistra (NYSE:VST) last posted its earnings results on Friday, November 7th. The company reported $1.75 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.78 by ($0.03). Vistra had a return on equity of 64.04% and a net margin of 6.70%.The firm had revenue of $4.97 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.60 billion. On average, equities analysts forecast that Vistra Corp. will post 7 earnings per share for the current year.

Vistra Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, December 31st. Stockholders of record on Monday, December 22nd will be given a dividend of $0.227 per share. This is a boost from Vistra’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.23. This represents a $0.91 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.5%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, December 22nd. Vistra’s dividend payout ratio is currently 32.49%.

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.