8,875 Vistra Corp. $VST Shares Bought by Vise Technologies Inc.

Key Points

• Vise Technologies increased its Vistra stake by 45.6% in the third quarter, adding 8,875 shares and bringing its holdings to 28,355 shares, valued at about $3.9 million. Institutional investors and hedge funds collectively own 90.88% of the stock.
• Analysts give Vistra a consensus “Moderate Buy” rating, with an average price target of $202.43; ratings include 17 Buys, one Strong Buy, one Hold and one Sell.
• Vistra’s latest reported quarter fell short of estimates, with EPS of $0.76 versus $1.61 expected and revenue of $4.02 billion versus $5.46 billion expected. The company raised its quarterly dividend slightly to $0.231 per share.

Vise Technologies Inc. grew its position in shares of Vistra Corp. (NYSE:VST - Free Report) by 45.6% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 28,355 shares of the company's stock after buying an additional 8,875 shares during the quarter. Vise Technologies Inc.'s holdings in Vistra were worth $3,923,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. BlackRock Inc. bought a new position in Vistra during the second quarter valued at approximately $4,610,496,000. State Street Corp lifted its stake in Vistra by 0.5% in the second quarter. State Street Corp now owns 16,850,452 shares of the company's stock valued at $2,672,987,000 after acquiring an additional 79,972 shares during the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its position in Vistra by 1.0% in the first quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 3,436,880 shares of the company's stock worth $516,616,000 after acquiring an additional 32,982 shares in the last quarter. Bank of America Corp DE bought a new stake in Vistra in the second quarter worth approximately $468,354,000. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp acquired a new position in shares of Vistra during the 2nd quarter worth $381,938,000. 90.88% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CEO James A. Burke bought 4,465 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, September 1st. The stock was purchased at an average price of $135.25 per share, with a total value of $603,891.25. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 1,146,352 shares in the company, valued at approximately $155,044,108. The trade was a 0.39% increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, EVP Scott Hudson sold 44,444 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, September 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $151.82, for a total transaction of $6,747,488.08. Following the sale, the executive vice president owned 331,137 shares of the company's stock, valued at $50,273,219.34. This trade represents a 11.83% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. 0.92% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have recently weighed in on VST shares. Sanford C. Bernstein restated an "outperform" rating and set a $181.00 price target on shares of Vistra in a report on Thursday, October 1st. Williams Trading set a $202.00 price objective on shares of Vistra in a report on Friday, October 2nd. BNP Paribas Exane set a $255.00 price objective on shares of Vistra in a report on Wednesday, August 19th. Mizuho initiated coverage on shares of Vistra in a research report on Monday, August 24th. They set an "outperform" rating and a $169.00 target price on the stock. Finally, Morgan Stanley cut their target price on Vistra from $227.00 to $226.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, October 21st. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seventeen have given a Buy rating, one has issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Vistra currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $202.43.

Vistra Trading Up 3.8%

Shares of VST stock opened at $139.66 on Wednesday. Vistra Corp. has a 12 month low of $132.66 and a 12 month high of $196.80. The company has a quick ratio of 0.87, a current ratio of 0.97 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.87. The business's 50 day moving average is $145.11 and its two-hundred day moving average is $153.38. The company has a market cap of $46.88 billion, a PE ratio of 23.59 and a beta of 1.37.

Vistra (NYSE:VST - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Friday, August 7th. The company reported $0.76 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $1.61 by ($0.85). The firm had revenue of $4.02 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.46 billion. Vistra had a net margin of 11.55% and a return on equity of 108.68%. Equities analysts predict that Vistra Corp. will post 9.19 EPS for the current year.

Vistra Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 31st. Investors of record on Tuesday, December 22nd will be issued a $0.2310 dividend. This is a boost from Vistra's previous quarterly dividend of $0.23. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, December 22nd. This represents a $0.92 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.7%. Vistra's payout ratio is 15.54%.

Vistra Profile

Vistra Corp. NYSE: VST is an integrated energy company based in Irving, Texas. The company operates across electricity generation, power distribution support, energy marketing and retail electricity sales, serving residential, commercial and industrial customers primarily in the United States.

Vistra owns and operates a diverse portfolio of power generation and energy storage facilities. Its assets include natural gas, nuclear, coal and renewable generation, as well as battery storage projects.

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