Vistra Corp. $VST Stock Position Lifted by Dimensional Fund Advisors LP

Key Points

• Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its holdings in Vistra Corp. by 0.3%, owning a total of 4,190,462 shares valued at approximately $492 million as of the latest SEC filing.
• Vistra recently raised its quarterly dividend to $0.226 per share, reflecting a positive change from the previous dividend of $0.23, with the annualized yield now at 0.5%.
• The company's latest earnings report showed a miss on earnings per share, reporting $1.01 against an expectation of $1.63, alongside a revenue of $4.25 billion, below the projected $5.15 billion.

Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its position in shares of Vistra Corp. (NYSE:VST - Free Report) by 0.3% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 4,190,462 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 11,386 shares during the quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP owned approximately 1.23% of Vistra worth $492,102,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in VST. Amalgamated Bank increased its holdings in 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 acquiring an additional 1,387 shares in the last quarter. Kingswood Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Vistra in the 1st quarter worth $341,000. Dynamic Advisor Solutions LLC purchased a new stake in Vistra in the 1st quarter worth $432,000. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. increased 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 acquiring an additional 57,551 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Wealthcare Advisory Partners LLC increased 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 acquiring an additional 224 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 90.88% of the company's stock.

Vistra Stock Down 0.2%

Shares of VST stock traded down $0.37 during trading hours on Thursday, reaching $192.54. 1,394,583 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 7,099,137. The business's fifty day moving average is $193.58 and its two-hundred day moving average is $158.04. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 6.58, a current ratio of 0.90 and a quick ratio of 0.80. Vistra Corp. has a 12-month low of $72.90 and a 12-month high of $216.85. The firm has a market capitalization of $65.24 billion, a P/E ratio of 30.71, a P/E/G ratio of 2.23 and a beta of 1.30.

Vistra (NYSE:VST - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 7th. The company reported $1.01 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $1.63 by ($0.62). The company had revenue of $4.25 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.15 billion. Vistra had a return on equity of 108.41% and a net margin of 12.90%. As a group, research analysts expect that Vistra Corp. will post 7 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Vistra Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 30th. Stockholders of record on Friday, September 19th will be paid a dividend of $0.226 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, September 19th. This represents a $0.90 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.5%. This is an increase from Vistra's previous quarterly dividend of $0.23. Vistra's dividend payout ratio is currently 14.35%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts recently commented on the stock. Melius assumed coverage on shares of Vistra in a report on Wednesday. They issued a "buy" rating and a $295.00 price target for the company. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their price target on shares of Vistra from $145.00 to $241.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, August 8th. Morgan Stanley lifted their target price on shares of Vistra from $178.00 to $186.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, June 18th. Evercore ISI set a $192.00 target price on shares of Vistra and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Thursday, May 15th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets lifted their target price on shares of Vistra from $191.00 to $229.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 12th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have given a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $199.93.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Scott B. Helm sold 50,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, June 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $172.75, for a total transaction of $8,637,500.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 255,192 shares in the company, valued at approximately $44,084,418. The trade was a 16.38% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director John R. Sult sold 25,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Friday, June 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $171.67, for a total value of $4,291,750.00. Following the sale, the director owned 75,946 shares of the company's stock, valued at $13,037,649.82. The trade was a 24.77% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 110,000 shares of company stock valued at $18,579,650 in the last 90 days. 1.42% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Vistra 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.