Bailard Inc. Sells 5,629 Shares of Vistra Corp. (NYSE:VST)

Bailard Inc. reduced its stake in shares of Vistra Corp. (NYSE:VST - Free Report) by 52.8% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 5,030 shares of the company's stock after selling 5,629 shares during the period. Bailard Inc.'s holdings in Vistra were worth $591,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts recently weighed in on VST shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their target price on shares of Vistra from $203.00 to $186.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Friday, March 28th. Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on Vistra from $178.00 to $186.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, June 18th. UBS Group boosted their price objective on Vistra from $160.00 to $207.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, June 17th. Raymond James Financial assumed coverage on Vistra in a research note on Friday, June 13th. They issued a "strong-buy" rating and a $216.00 price objective for the company. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their target price on Vistra from $134.00 to $164.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Friday, May 23rd. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $176.92.

Vistra Trading Up 6.1%

NYSE VST opened at $193.04 on Friday. Vistra Corp. has a 52 week low of $66.50 and a 52 week high of $200.25. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $175.48 and a 200 day moving average price of $152.70. The company has a quick ratio of 0.77, a current ratio of 0.86 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 6.53. The firm has a market cap of $65.50 billion, a PE ratio of 30.35, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.27 and a beta of 1.26.

Vistra Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 30th. Investors of record on Wednesday, June 18th were given a $0.225 dividend. This is a positive change from Vistra's previous quarterly dividend of $0.22. This represents a $0.90 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.47%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, June 18th. Vistra's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 14.15%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, EVP Scott A. Hudson sold 56,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $157.00, for a total value of $8,792,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 306,600 shares in the company, valued at $48,136,200. This trade represents a 15.44% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, EVP Stephanie Zapata Moore sold 35,000 shares of Vistra stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $161.44, for a total value of $5,650,400.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president directly 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 294,000 shares of company stock worth $47,461,490 over the last ninety days. Company insiders own 1.42% of the company's stock.

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.

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