Aberdeen Group plc Purchases 2,484 Shares of Vistra Corp. $VST

Key Points

• Aberdeen Group plc has increased its stake in Vistra Corp. by 2.2%, acquiring an additional 2,484 shares, bringing its total holdings to 117,283 shares valued at approximately $13.56 million.
• Vistra Corp. recently declared a quarterly dividend increase to $0.226 per share, up from $0.23, representing an annualized yield of 0.5%.
• Following recent earnings results that missed expectations, several analysts have upgraded their price targets for Vistra, with recommendations to buy, suggesting increased confidence in the company's future performance.

Aberdeen Group plc grew its position in shares of Vistra Corp. (NYSE:VST - Free Report) by 2.2% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 117,283 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 2,484 shares during the quarter. Aberdeen Group plc's holdings in Vistra were worth $13,563,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its holdings in 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 buying an additional 11,386 shares during the period. Legal Advantage Investments Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Vistra by 102.4% in the 1st quarter. Legal Advantage Investments Inc. now owns 8,300 shares of the company's stock valued at $975,000 after purchasing an additional 4,200 shares during the period. Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC boosted its position in shares of Vistra by 1,492.4% during the 1st quarter. Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC now owns 95,880 shares of the company's stock valued at $11,260,000 after purchasing an additional 89,859 shares in the last quarter. OneAscent Investment Solutions LLC acquired a new stake in Vistra during the first quarter worth approximately $259,000. Finally, Fjarde AP Fonden Fourth Swedish National Pension Fund increased its holdings in Vistra by 4,223.5% in the first quarter. Fjarde AP Fonden Fourth Swedish National Pension Fund now owns 73,500 shares of the company's stock worth $8,632,000 after purchasing an additional 71,800 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 90.88% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Vistra

In related news, Director John R. Sult sold 25,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Friday, June 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $171.67, for a total value of $4,291,750.00. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 75,946 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $13,037,649.82. The trade was a 24.77% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Stephanie Zapata Moore sold 35,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $161.44, for a total transaction of $5,650,400.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president owned 88,073 shares of the company's stock, valued at $14,218,505.12. This trade represents a 28.44% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 110,000 shares of company stock worth $18,579,650 in the last quarter. 1.42% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages have recently commented on VST. Melius Research raised shares of Vistra to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday. Evercore ISI set a $192.00 target price on shares of Vistra and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Thursday, May 15th. Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on shares of Vistra from $178.00 to $186.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, June 18th. Raymond James Financial assumed coverage on shares of Vistra in a report on Friday, June 13th. They set a "strong-buy" rating and a $216.00 price objective on the stock. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group raised their target price on Vistra from $179.00 to $203.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 13th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have assigned a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Vistra presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $199.93.

Vistra Stock Up 0.0%

NYSE VST traded up $0.0160 on Friday, reaching $190.2960. The company had a trading volume of 3,444,858 shares, compared to its average volume of 7,087,100. Vistra Corp. has a 52-week low of $72.90 and a 52-week high of $216.85. The stock has a market capitalization of $64.48 billion, a P/E ratio of 30.35, a P/E/G ratio of 2.22 and a beta of 1.30. The company's fifty day moving average is $193.90 and its 200 day moving average is $158.19. 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 - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 7th. The company reported $1.01 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.63 by ($0.62). Vistra had a net margin of 12.90% and a return on equity of 108.41%. The firm had revenue of $4.25 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $5.15 billion. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Vistra Corp. will post 7 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Vistra Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 30th. Investors of record on Friday, September 19th will be issued a dividend of $0.226 per share. This represents a $0.90 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.5%. This is an increase from Vistra's previous quarterly dividend of $0.23. The ex-dividend date is Friday, September 19th. Vistra's dividend payout ratio is 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.