B. Metzler seel. Sohn & Co. AG Buys 10,400 Shares of Vistra Corp. $VST

Key Points

• B. Metzler seel. Sohn & Co. AG boosted its stake 140.2% in Vistra in Q3, buying an additional 10,400 shares to own 17,816 shares valued at about $3.49 million.
• Institutional ownership is very high at 90.88%, with large moves by State Street, Massachusetts Financial Services, Invesco and a new position from Norges Bank; Vistra has a $55.53 billion market cap, a PE of ~75.5 and recently missed quarterly EPS ($2.18 vs. $2.45 est.) and revenue estimates.
• Vistra raised its quarterly dividend to $0.228 (annualized $0.91, ~0.6% yield) and carries a MarketBeat consensus rating of "Buy" with a consensus price target of $236.40.

B. Metzler seel. Sohn & Co. AG boosted its stake in shares of Vistra Corp. (NYSE:VST - Free Report) by 140.2% in the third quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 17,816 shares of the company's stock after buying an additional 10,400 shares during the quarter. B. Metzler seel. Sohn & Co. AG's holdings in Vistra were worth $3,490,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. State Street Corp boosted its holdings in shares of Vistra by 1.4% in the second quarter. State Street Corp now owns 16,660,027 shares of the company's stock valued at $3,228,880,000 after purchasing an additional 226,514 shares during the period. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA increased its holdings in Vistra by 15.1% during the 3rd quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 7,106,465 shares of the company's stock worth $1,392,299,000 after purchasing an additional 930,912 shares during the period. Norges Bank purchased a new position in Vistra during the 2nd quarter worth $930,080,000. Invesco Ltd. raised its position in Vistra by 25.2% during the 2nd quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 4,537,384 shares of the company's stock valued at $879,390,000 after purchasing an additional 913,350 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp raised its position in Vistra by 0.7% during the 3rd quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 2,344,142 shares of the company's stock valued at $459,264,000 after purchasing an additional 16,321 shares in the last quarter. 90.88% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Vistra Stock Up 3.3%

Shares of NYSE VST opened at $163.89 on Tuesday. Vistra Corp. has a 12-month low of $90.51 and a 12-month high of $219.82. The stock's fifty day simple moving average is $163.65 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $179.13. The stock has a market capitalization of $55.53 billion, a PE ratio of 75.53, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.96 and a beta of 1.42. The company has a current ratio of 0.78, a quick ratio of 0.69 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 6.01.

Vistra (NYSE:VST - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 26th. The company reported $2.18 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.45 by ($0.27). The company had revenue of $4.58 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.75 billion. Vistra had a return on equity of 81.09% and a net margin of 5.32%. As a group, analysts expect that Vistra Corp. will post 7 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Vistra Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 31st. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 20th will be issued a $0.228 dividend. This is a boost from Vistra's previous quarterly dividend of $0.23. This represents a $0.91 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.6%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 20th. Vistra's dividend payout ratio is presently 41.94%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts have recently issued reports on VST shares. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price target on Vistra from $236.00 to $234.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, February 27th. The Goldman Sachs Group upgraded Vistra from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $205.00 price objective for the company in a report on Friday, February 6th. KeyCorp started coverage on shares of Vistra in a research note on Monday, November 24th. They issued an "overweight" rating and a $217.00 price objective for the company. Bank of America dropped their target price on shares of Vistra from $231.00 to $218.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, January 12th. Finally, Scotiabank raised their target price on shares of Vistra from $287.00 to $293.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Monday, January 12th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twelve have assigned a Buy rating and one has assigned a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Buy" and a consensus price target of $236.40.

Insider Activity at Vistra

In other Vistra news, CEO James A. Burke sold 22,251 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, December 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $162.05, for a total transaction of $3,605,774.55. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 297,998 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $48,290,575.90. This represents a 6.95% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Insiders own 1.42% of the company's stock.

About Vistra

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.

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