Arete Wealth Advisors LLC Makes New Investment in Vistra Corp. $VST

Key Points

• Arete Wealth Advisors acquired 13,125 Vistra shares worth approximately $2.08 million in the second quarter. Institutional investors own 90.88% of Vistra, with major positions held by Vanguard, BlackRock, State Street and Geode Capital.
• Vistra reported quarterly EPS of $0.76, missing the $1.61 consensus estimate, while revenue of $4.02 billion fell short of the expected $5.46 billion. The stock opened at $136.43, near its 52-week low of $132.66.
• Analysts maintain a generally positive outlook, with a “Moderate Buy” consensus and an average price target of $226.94. Vistra also declared a quarterly dividend of $0.23 per share, equivalent to a 0.7% annual yield.

Arete Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Vistra Corp. (NYSE:VST - Free Report) in the second quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor acquired 13,125 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,082,000.

Other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its position in Vistra by 0.9% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 41,588,784 shares of the company's stock worth $6,709,519,000 after buying an additional 390,157 shares during the last quarter. BlackRock Inc. bought a new position in Vistra during the second quarter valued at approximately $4,610,496,000. State Street Corp grew its position in Vistra by 2.7% during the fourth quarter. State Street Corp now owns 16,474,869 shares of the company's stock valued at $2,657,891,000 after acquiring an additional 432,028 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its position in Vistra by 1.1% during the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 8,965,648 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,441,112,000 after acquiring an additional 97,424 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Norges Bank purchased a new position in shares of Vistra during the fourth quarter worth approximately $746,729,000. 90.88% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Scott B. Helm sold 25,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, June 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $160.00, for a total transaction of $4,000,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 232,200 shares in the company, valued at approximately $37,152,000. This represents a 9.72% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, CAO Margaret Montemayor sold 5,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $164.96, for a total value of $824,800.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer directly owned 14,360 shares in the company, valued at $2,368,825.60. The trade was a 25.83% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders have sold a total of 41,588 shares of company stock worth $6,739,227 over the last ninety days. 0.92% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Vistra Stock Up 0.2%

Shares of Vistra stock opened at $136.43 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.87, a quick ratio of 0.87 and a current ratio of 0.97. Vistra Corp. has a 52-week low of $132.66 and a 52-week high of $219.82. The stock has a market capitalization of $45.79 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.05 and a beta of 1.41. The company's 50 day moving average price is $153.73 and its 200-day moving average price is $155.84.

Vistra (NYSE:VST - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Friday, August 7th. The company reported $0.76 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.61 by ($0.85). Vistra had a return on equity of 108.68% and a net margin of 11.55%.The firm had revenue of $4.02 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $5.46 billion. Equities research analysts forecast that Vistra Corp. will post 9.23 EPS for the current year.

Vistra Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, September 30th. Shareholders of record on Monday, September 21st will be given a $0.23 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, September 21st. This is a positive change from Vistra's previous quarterly dividend of $0.23. This represents a $0.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.7%. Vistra's dividend payout ratio is presently 15.54%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on VST shares. Wells Fargo & Company restated an "overweight" rating and issued a $212.00 price objective on shares of Vistra in a report on Monday, August 10th. UBS Group decreased their target price on shares of Vistra from $233.00 to $227.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, July 28th. The Goldman Sachs Group set a $206.00 target price on shares of Vistra in a research report on Wednesday, August 12th. Sanford C. Bernstein set a $187.00 price target on shares of Vistra and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Tuesday, June 16th. Finally, Weiss Ratings lowered shares of Vistra from a "hold (c+)" rating to a "hold (c)" rating in a research report on Thursday, August 13th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirteen have issued a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Vistra currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $226.94.

Vistra Profile

Vistra NYSE: VST is an integrated power company that develops, owns and operates electricity generation and retail businesses in the United States. The company's operations span wholesale power production—through a diversified fleet of thermal and lower‑carbon generation assets—and retail electricity supply to residential, commercial and industrial customers. Vistra serves organized wholesale markets and competitive retail markets, with a notable presence in Texas and other regional U.S. power markets.

Vistra's core activities include the ownership and operation of generation facilities, the commercial dispatch and optimization of those assets into wholesale markets, and the sale of electricity and related services to end-use customers through its retail brands.

Want to see what other hedge funds are holding VST? Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider trades for Vistra Corp. (NYSE:VST - Free Report).

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.

Continue following MarketBeat

Add MarketBeat as your preferred source on Google to see our latest stories in your feed.

Add As Preferred Source