PGGM Investments Grows Stock Position in Vistra Corp. (NYSE:VST)

PGGM Investments lifted its stake in Vistra Corp. (NYSE:VST) by 16.0% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 6,271 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 863 shares during the quarter. PGGM Investments’ holdings in Vistra were worth $242,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. FinTrust Capital Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Vistra during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $26,000. Blue Trust Inc. boosted its position in Vistra by 160.7% during the fourth quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 717 shares of the company’s stock worth $28,000 after purchasing an additional 442 shares in the last quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp acquired a new stake in Vistra in the third quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Lindbrook Capital LLC increased its position in shares of Vistra by 64.4% in the fourth quarter. Lindbrook Capital LLC now owns 840 shares of the company’s stock valued at $32,000 after buying an additional 329 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Rise Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Vistra during the 4th quarter worth approximately $35,000. 90.88% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

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

Insider Transactions at Vistra

In related news, EVP Carrie Lee Kirby sold 72,748 shares of Vistra stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $62.63, for a total transaction of $4,556,207.24. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 184,201 shares in the company, valued at approximately $11,536,508.63. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. In other Vistra news, EVP Carrie Lee Kirby sold 72,748 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $62.63, for a total transaction of $4,556,207.24. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 184,201 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $11,536,508.63. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, EVP Scott A. Hudson sold 86,517 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $59.11, for a total value of $5,114,019.87. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 254,932 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $15,069,030.52. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 257,285 shares of company stock worth $15,404,397. 1.42% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Vistra Stock Performance

VST opened at $77.97 on Tuesday. Vistra Corp. has a twelve month low of $22.67 and a twelve month high of $78.00. The firm has a market capitalization of $27.12 billion, a PE ratio of 21.78 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. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $63.63 and its 200 day moving average price is $46.65.

Vistra (NYSE:VST) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, February 28th. The company reported ($0.48) earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.54 by ($1.02). Vistra had a return on equity of 20.05% and a net margin of 10.10%. The company had revenue of $3.08 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.48 billion. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Vistra Corp. will post 3.57 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Vistra Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 29th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, March 20th were issued a dividend of $0.215 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, March 19th. This represents a $0.86 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.10%. This is a boost from Vistra’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.21. Vistra’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 24.02%.

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.