California Public Employees Retirement System Grows Position in Vistra Corp. (NYSE:VST)

California Public Employees Retirement System boosted its stake in Vistra Corp. (NYSE:VST) by 3.8% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 722,078 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 26,221 shares during the quarter. California Public Employees Retirement System owned approximately 0.20% of Vistra worth $27,814,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of VST. FinTrust Capital Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Vistra during the 3rd quarter worth $26,000. Blue Trust Inc. grew its stake in shares of Vistra by 160.7% during the 4th quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 717 shares of the company’s stock worth $28,000 after acquiring an additional 442 shares during the period. Fifth Third Bancorp bought a new position in shares of Vistra during the 3rd quarter worth $29,000. Lindbrook Capital LLC boosted its stake in Vistra by 64.4% in the 4th quarter. Lindbrook Capital LLC now owns 840 shares of the company’s stock worth $32,000 after purchasing an additional 329 shares during the period. Finally, Rise Advisors LLC bought a new position in Vistra in the 4th quarter worth about $35,000. 90.88% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, EVP Stephanie Zapata Moore sold 98,020 shares of Vistra stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $58.50, for a total value of $5,734,170.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 161,888 shares in the company, valued at approximately $9,470,448. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. In other Vistra news, EVP Carrie Lee Kirby sold 72,748 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $62.63, for a total value of $4,556,207.24. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 184,201 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $11,536,508.63. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, EVP Stephanie Zapata Moore sold 98,020 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $58.50, for a total value of $5,734,170.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 161,888 shares in the company, valued at $9,470,448. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 257,285 shares of company stock valued at $15,404,397 in the last ninety days. Company insiders own 1.42% of the company’s stock.

Vistra Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE VST opened at $72.70 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $25.29 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.31 and a beta of 1.05. The company has a current ratio of 1.18, a quick ratio of 1.11 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 4.26. Vistra Corp. has a 1-year low of $22.67 and a 1-year high of $75.89. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $63.63 and its 200 day moving average is $46.45.

Vistra (NYSE:VST) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 28th. The company reported ($0.48) earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.54 by ($1.02). The firm had revenue of $3.08 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.48 billion. Vistra had a net margin of 10.10% and a return on equity of 20.05%. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Vistra Corp. will post 3.57 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Vistra Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 29th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, March 20th were paid a $0.215 dividend. This is a boost from Vistra’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.21. This represents a $0.86 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.18%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, March 19th. Vistra’s payout ratio is 24.02%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have commented on the company. Janney Montgomery Scott assumed coverage on Vistra in a research note on Thursday, April 18th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $82.00 target price for the company. Evercore ISI raised their price target on Vistra from $72.00 to $79.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, April 4th. BMO Capital Markets raised their price target on Vistra from $52.00 to $60.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, March 4th. Finally, Morgan Stanley reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and issued a $78.00 price target on shares of Vistra in a report on Monday, March 25th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, According to data from MarketBeat, Vistra has an average rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $67.20.

Vistra 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.