Ascent Group LLC Grows Stake in Vistra Corp. $VST

Key Points

• Ascent Group LLC increased its stake in Vistra Corp. by 72.9%, owning 27,633 shares valued at approximately $3.25 million as of the latest SEC filing.
• Vistra recently announced a quarterly dividend increase, now at $0.226 per share, translating to an annualized dividend of $0.90 and a yield of 0.5%.
• The stock has received favorable ratings from several analysts, with a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a target price of $201.43.

Ascent Group LLC lifted its position in Vistra Corp. (NYSE:VST - Free Report) by 72.9% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 27,633 shares of the company's stock after buying an additional 11,648 shares during the period. Ascent Group LLC's holdings in Vistra were worth $3,245,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Amalgamated Bank boosted its stake in shares of Vistra by 1.9% in the 1st quarter. Amalgamated Bank now owns 73,908 shares of the company's stock worth $8,680,000 after buying an additional 1,387 shares during the last quarter. Kingswood Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new position in Vistra in the 1st quarter worth $341,000. Dynamic Advisor Solutions LLC bought a new position in Vistra in the 1st quarter worth $432,000. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. raised its holdings in Vistra by 29.1% in the 1st quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 255,629 shares of the company's stock worth $30,021,000 after purchasing an additional 57,551 shares during the period. Finally, Wealthcare Advisory Partners LLC raised its holdings in Vistra by 12.9% in the 1st quarter. Wealthcare Advisory Partners LLC now owns 1,955 shares of the company's stock worth $230,000 after purchasing an additional 224 shares during the period. 90.88% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts recently commented on VST shares. Morgan Stanley set a $207.00 target price on Vistra and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Thursday, August 21st. Wall Street Zen cut Vistra from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a report on Friday, September 5th. Raymond James Financial initiated coverage on Vistra in a report on Friday, June 13th. They issued a "strong-buy" rating and a $216.00 target price on the stock. UBS Group raised their price target on Vistra from $207.00 to $230.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, July 25th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group raised their price target on Vistra from $145.00 to $241.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, August 8th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have issued a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $201.43.

Vistra Price Performance

Shares of VST stock traded down $4.54 during trading hours on Thursday, hitting $204.67. The stock had a trading volume of 4,397,304 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,725,902. Vistra Corp. has a one year low of $79.03 and a one year high of $216.85. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 6.58, a current ratio of 0.90 and a quick ratio of 0.80. The stock's 50-day moving average price is $196.18 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $161.08. The stock has a market capitalization of $69.35 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 32.64, a PEG ratio of 3.27 and a beta of 1.33.

Vistra (NYSE:VST - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, August 7th. The company reported $1.01 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.63 by ($0.62). The firm had revenue of $4.25 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.15 billion. Vistra had a return on equity of 108.41% and a net margin of 12.90%. Equities analysts forecast that Vistra Corp. will post 7 EPS for the current year.

Vistra Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 30th. Investors of record on Friday, September 19th will be given a $0.226 dividend. This is an increase from Vistra's previous quarterly dividend of $0.23. This represents a $0.90 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.4%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, September 19th. Vistra's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 14.35%.

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.