Bank of America Corp DE Purchases Shares of 2,952,496 Vistra Corp. $VST

Key Points

• Bank of America purchased 2,952,496 Vistra shares worth approximately $468.4 million, giving it an estimated 0.88% stake. Institutional investors collectively own 90.88% of Vistra.
• Analysts maintain a generally positive view, with a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $223.53, despite some recent downgrades.
• 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 company declared a quarterly dividend of $0.23 per share, equivalent to a 0.7% yield.

Bank of America Corp DE bought a new position in shares of Vistra Corp. (NYSE:VST - Free Report) during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor bought 2,952,496 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $468,354,000. Bank of America Corp DE owned about 0.88% of Vistra as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the stock. BlackRock Inc. acquired a new position in Vistra during the second quarter valued at approximately $4,610,496,000. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Vistra by 1.1% in 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 purchasing an additional 97,424 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of Vistra during the 4th quarter worth approximately $746,729,000. Capital World Investors acquired a new stake in Vistra in the 4th quarter valued at $574,499,000. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its position in shares of Vistra by 1.0% in the first quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 3,436,880 shares of the company's stock valued at $516,616,000 after acquiring an additional 32,982 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 90.88% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts recently issued reports on VST shares. Wells Fargo & Company reiterated an "overweight" rating and issued a $212.00 target price on shares of Vistra in a research note on Monday, August 10th. Mizuho assumed coverage on shares of Vistra in a research note on Monday, August 24th. They issued an "outperform" rating and a $169.00 price objective for the company. Zacks Research cut Vistra from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 18th. Weiss Ratings downgraded shares of Vistra from a "hold (c+)" rating to a "hold (c)" rating in a research report on Thursday, August 13th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group reissued a "buy" rating and issued a $190.00 target price on shares of Vistra in a report on Thursday, May 21st. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fourteen have given a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Vistra has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $223.53.

Vistra Stock Performance

NYSE VST opened at $141.50 on Wednesday. The company has a current ratio of 0.97, a quick ratio of 0.87 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.87. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $148.20 and a 200 day simple moving average of $153.49. The company has a market cap of $47.49 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.90 and a beta of 1.40. Vistra Corp. has a 12-month low of $132.66 and a 12-month high of $219.82.

Vistra (NYSE:VST - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Friday, August 7th. The company reported $0.76 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $1.61 by ($0.85). The company had revenue of $4.02 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $5.46 billion. Vistra had a net margin of 11.55% and a return on equity of 108.68%. Sell-side analysts predict that Vistra Corp. will post 9.21 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Vistra Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, September 30th. Stockholders of record on Monday, September 21st will be given a dividend of $0.23 per share. This is a boost from Vistra's previous quarterly dividend of $0.23. This represents a $0.92 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.7%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, September 21st. Vistra's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 15.54%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director John Sult sold 6,500 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, June 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $170.00, for a total value of $1,105,000.00. Following the sale, the director owned 70,714 shares in the company, valued at approximately $12,021,380. This trade represents a 8.42% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, CEO James A. Burke bought 4,465 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, September 1st. The shares were bought at an average price of $135.25 per share, with a total value of $603,891.25. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 1,146,352 shares of the company's stock, valued at $155,044,108. The trade was a 0.39% increase in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this purchase provides additional information. 0.92% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Vistra Company Profile

Vistra Corp. is an integrated energy company headquartered in Irving, Texas. The company operates electricity generation and retail energy businesses, serving residential, commercial, industrial and wholesale customers primarily across the United States.

Vistra's generation portfolio includes natural gas, nuclear, coal, solar and battery energy storage facilities. Through its retail operations, the company provides electricity, natural gas and renewable energy plans under brands that include TXU Energy, Dynegy, Homefield Energy and Ambit Energy.

The company was established in 2016 following the separation of Energy Future Holdings' competitive energy businesses.

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