Bensler LLC Purchases 5,959 Shares of Vistra Corp. $VST

Bensler LLC lifted its holdings in Vistra Corp. (NYSE:VST) by 7.9% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 81,546 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 5,959 shares during the quarter. Vistra accounts for approximately 1.8% of Bensler LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 17th largest position. Bensler LLC’s holdings in Vistra were worth $15,804,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. City State Bank grew its stake in shares of Vistra by 210.0% in the 2nd quarter. City State Bank now owns 155 shares of the company’s stock worth $30,000 after buying an additional 105 shares in the last quarter. NewSquare Capital LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Vistra by 65.9% in the 2nd quarter. NewSquare Capital LLC now owns 214 shares of the company’s stock valued at $41,000 after acquiring an additional 85 shares during the last quarter. Banque Transatlantique SA lifted its holdings in shares of 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 acquiring an additional 132 shares during the last quarter. Armstrong Advisory Group Inc. grew its position in Vistra by 48.4% in the second quarter. Armstrong Advisory Group Inc. now owns 239 shares of the company’s stock worth $46,000 after acquiring an additional 78 shares in the last quarter. Finally, LRI Investments LLC increased its stake in Vistra by 104.3% during the second quarter. LRI Investments LLC now owns 286 shares of the company’s stock worth $55,000 after acquiring an additional 146 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 90.88% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Wells Fargo & Company assumed coverage on Vistra in a research note on Monday, October 27th. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $238.00 price objective for the company. Morgan Stanley increased their price target on Vistra from $207.00 to $223.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, September 25th. Daiwa America upgraded Vistra from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, September 17th. Jefferies Financial Group reaffirmed a “hold” rating and set a $230.00 price objective (down from $241.00) on shares of Vistra in a research note on Monday, September 22nd. Finally, Daiwa Capital Markets upgraded shares of Vistra from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $250.00 price objective on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, September 17th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twelve have given a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $234.21.

Insider Activity at Vistra

In other news, CEO James A. Burke sold 43,074 shares of Vistra 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 completion of the sale, the chief executive officer 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 ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Insiders have sold 723,910 shares of company stock worth $148,086,569 over the last 90 days. Company insiders own 1.42% of the company’s stock.

Vistra Stock Performance

VST stock opened at $190.65 on Friday. Vistra Corp. has a twelve month low of $90.51 and a twelve month high of $219.82. The firm has a market cap of $64.60 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 30.41, a PEG ratio of 2.62 and a beta of 1.30. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $199.04 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $184.29. 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 earnings results on Thursday, November 6th. The company reported $1.75 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.78 by ($0.03). The company had revenue of $4.97 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.60 billion. Vistra had a net margin of 6.70% and a return on equity of 64.88%. Analysts predict that Vistra Corp. will post 7 earnings per share for the current year.

Vistra Increases Dividend

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

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.